-
Welcome!
- Esther’s Updates
- The new EYEPORT is available now!
- Special news for vision teachers
- To fail to see requires an effort – W.H. Bates, M.D.

☺

WELCOME
to those who receive Visions of Joy News for the first time! We
have about 200 new subscribers so far this year, so I hope you
enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural eyesight
improvement and that you will find it helpful on your personal
path to clarity.

☺

THE
NEW EYEPORT IS AVAILABLE
Since the original Eyeport went out of production in 2014 I’ve
had many requests for them that I could not fulfil. Thankfully
the Bernell company has started to make an improved version, called
the Eyeport II, with a tripod stand and USB power connector. For
those not familiar with the Eyeport, it is a vision training machine
that uses red/blue lights to stimulate relaxed focus and shifting
in both eyes which helps with a variety of functional vision challenges,
especially promoting binocular vision. So if you wanted to buy
an Eyeport but missed out before, here is your chance to get one
now!
The first units have just arrived here in Ojai and can be mailed
to you this week! They cost $269.95 plus postage. You’ll
find more information about the Eyeport here.

☺

ESTHER’S
UPDATES
I was excited to see that my book Read
Without Glasses At Any Age (along with its Italian sister
Leggere Senza Occhiali) recently passed the 1000 copies sold mark.
I’m currently working a lot on the new Optimal Eyesight
book for those with myopia and astigmatism, and will keep you
up to date when I get closer to its publication date.
Coming up are a few vision improvement
workshops - one at Centrum Bubishi in Brunssum, the Netherlands
(25 June), and one at Montegrotto Terme near Venice, Italy (2-3
July). Inquire for more information.

☺

SPECIAL
NEWS FOR VISION TEACHERS
Today I also sent a newsletter just for vision teachers. It has
information on the continuing education seminar that I will give
in Italy (11-15 July, at Montegrotto Terme near Venice); plus
an invitation to the 3rd Professional AVE Conference in Boulder
Colorado (15-18 September) and a link to the 84th International
Conference on Light and Vision (syntonics) in Indianapolis, 7-11
June 2016. If you receive this email but not the vision teacher
edition, and you are a teacher who would like to receive these
special updates, please email me.

☺

TO
FAIL TO SEE REQUIRES AN EFFORT
To fail to see requires an effort. When the patient regards the
letters which are so blurred and indistinct that he cannot tell
what they are, he is always straining, trying to see, either consciously
or unconsciously. People are cured of their imperfect sight when
they cease to strain, stare, or make an effort to see. When I
explained this to one of my patients, she said that I was wrong,
that the only way she could see was by means of an effort. I had
her test the facts. When she looked at the Snellen test card at
ten feet, she could not read it with normal vision. At five feet
her vision was better, but when she made an effort, her vision
became much worse. The same was true when she regarded letters
at a nearer point, three feet, two feet, or even one foot. An
effort to see always made her sight worse. She had to demonstrate
the facts repeatedly before she was finally convinced that her
vision was good only when her eyes were at rest and no effort
was made.

W.H. Bates, M.D., Better Eyesight magazine, September 1926

☺

Thank
you for reading Visions of Joy News, please share it with your
friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

WELCOME to those who receive Visions of
Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural
eyesight improvement and that you will find it helpful on your
personal path to clarity.

This
is the first time that the Newsletter is sent out via Mailchimp.
This automation allows you to easily subscribe and unsubscribe,
change your email address if you want, and it saves me time, so
I hope it works well!

It has
been five months since the last newsletter, and that makes this
one rather filled full with new items! I have been so busy that
it’s been a challenge to keep up with emails, but I hope
to catch up during this Christmas break, so if you are awaiting
a reply, it will come soon!

☺

THE
OPTIMIST - MAGAZINE ARTICLE AND ONLINE VIDEO COURSE
The Optimist magazine recently published an article on the Bates
Method and they invited me to offer an online video course for
their subscribers and my students. I have not done this before
and am excited to create it! The course will be in four segments;
four Fridays in a row, starting 29 January 2016. I will cover
many vision improvement techniques to help a wide range of functional
vision issues, and each session will end with a chance for participants
to ask questions. If you are interested in taking part, you will
get a 10% discount if you sign
up through Visions of Joy!

☺

ESTHER’S
UPDATES
2015 has been an incredibly busy year with a few remarkable ‘firsts’!
- My book ‘Read Without Glasses at Any Age’ saw its
first translation (into Italian); I organized my first vision
educators (AVE) conference; and I traveled to Spain for the first
time to speak at the International Holistic Vision Conference
last month.
Coming up in 2016 are the above mentioned online video course
(another first!); a few vision improvement workshops - one at
Centrum Bubishi in Brunssum, the Netherlands, and one in Camposampiero,
Italy (in June / July); a teacher training week (11-15 July) in
Italy; the 3rd Professional AVE Conference in Boulder Colorado
(16-18 September); and a new look to the Visions of Joy website
which will become mobile-friendly! More things are in the pipeline,
they will be announced later on. Yes, I’m keeping busy...

☺

CONGRATULATIONS!
People so often tell me of their wonderful vision progress that
it is normal for me to hear about eyesight improving, but for
many people it is not. So I will share a few recent stories from
my students. There are more from the past 5 months but I will
l limit it to just five to keep this section ‘short’.

*
Congratulations to Kimberly Wulfert in Ojai who I met
at an event in Santa Barbara. We got talking, she bought my book
Read Without Glasses at Any Age, and she started to lower the
power of her reading glasses by herself. She sent an email recently
just to say: I’m doing pretty well at 2.00 lens now,
started at 3.25. I’m so happy about this!

* Congratulations to Jane B. in Englandwhose
vision steadily improved while taking the email course. She wrote
this after completing the 5th lesson:
Dear Esther, This whole process is so exciting! My vision seems
to be so much better when I am outside walking, it seems almost
that everything in the distance is clearer than it was when I
was wearing contacts. I don't know how that can be! But it is
such a joyful feeling. I have walked a lot this week along the
coast, and love looking at the rocks, pebbles and the waves with
such clarity and depth.
Love, Jane

* Congratulations to Nalini R. (52) in Tomales, CA
who took the email course and wrote: Hi Esther,
Vision is continuing to clear. I've been working on the computer
without glasses and my vision improves daily. One day at the computer
I tried putting on the -3/-2.5 pairs of glasses and my eyes nearly
rebelled! I could feel the headache and eye strain coming back.
It feels like my eyes are willing to clear if I just don't put
glasses on them...
I can feel my eyes starting to move naturally on their own now
too. I understand what your student from Spain meant by that.
[Nora U, see July 2015 Newsletter.] I go for long walks
in the morning past sheep farms and this morning I was amazed
at how my eyes just realized how to move and see clearly.
Thanks for everything, you have my eternal gratitude...
Nalini

Congratulations
to J.K in Idaho who I wrote about in the March 1 newsletter.
He sent this update in August:Esther,
I hope you remember me as its been a long time since I last contacted
you; its me J, the kid from Idaho. I have some good news to share
with you, as I have been enjoying the fruits of relaxed and effortless
vision.
I am proud to announce that I can read the 20/15 line from 20-22
feet away ( I measured). One day my right eye could even pick
out a few letters on the 20/10 line! It is truly amazing how well
you see when you don't try to see!! Thankfully the habit of trying
not to see is already very strong within me, and only very rarely
do I find myself trying to see ( which I quickly correct).
I have also had a few more bonuses using this relaxed vision.
I have several floaters in both eyes, which, as you can imagine
in very annoying. This new relaxed vision, gets rid of them virtually
instantly, using blinking, shifting, and trying not to see. Now
only very rarely do I see my floaters!! Let me tell you its very
nice to look up into that sapphire blue sky and see nothing but
endless blue, minus those floaters!! I am also not as sensitive
to sunlight as I used to be, sunning really helps.
I would like to thank you immensely for all your help and all
the information on your website!!!
J.

Congratulations
to Ulla Y. in Finland who proves that vision improvement
does not always come quickly but it is worth the wait and persistence
pays! On 19 August 2015 she wrote to me:Dear Esther! I have to tell you these great news!
I started with you in December 2013. My vision then was
Both eyes: 3 / 40
Left eye: 3 / 50
Right eye: 3 / 80
This morning it was for the first time
Both eyes: 3 / 5 (!!!!!!!!!!!)
Left eye: 3 / 10
Right eye: 3 / 10
I'm so happy with these results!! I think my vision might be about
-2 & -2,25 right now. (Ulla started at -4.50 and this
improvement equates to going from 8% of normal vision to 60% with
both eyes in less than 2 years; a huge improvement. ~ EJvdW)The process with my vision seems to be veeeeeeeery slow (there
have been times I'm wondering if anything is really happening?!),
but this 3 / 5 gives me new confirm that yes, it's all the time
going on. I've been very conscious and enthusiastic about this
process all the time. My eyes are every day in my mind. Things
are clearer and I've been meditating regularly :)
All the best for you, Huge Thanks again,
I'll tell you more great news again!! (even though, it can take
time ;)
Love, Ulla (Finland)

That's why I love my work! These are just
a few recent examples and, as you may know from previous
newsletters, they are not the only success stories. Congratulations
go to all my students, even if only for having an open mind and
a willingness to try something different. Not everyone sees fast
improvements, yet many benefits become evident over time, and
every step is so worth-while. Keep enjoying your path to clarity!

☺

PINHOLE
GLASSES OFFER
One more time I offer the new style pinhole glasses at a discount,
only while supplies last, or until 31 January 2016, whichever
comes first!
Go look at these new style of pinhole glasses, with smaller pinholes
than I have seen before, which increases your focal range. This
makes them more usable for both near and far vision. Also, the
greater number of holes creates a better field of vision with
considerably less interruption from the black plastic. Go
see!

☺

In
honor of Dr. Bates’ birthday today (23 December),
I just want to point out some research that was published in an
ophthalmology journal in August of this year confirming what Dr.
Bates said more than a century ago, namely, that if you put glasses
(or lenses) on a myopic eye, it will only get worse over time!…
This medical paper clearly states that continuous correction of
myopia results in a linear progression that increases myopia at
a rate of 0.2 to 1.0 diopter per year. No exceptions. That is
what the use of these crutches do to your eyes!
As soon as I get the complete research paper I will post it on
my website, for now the abstract will have to do, you
can read that here.

☺

Thank
you for reading Visions of Joy News; please share it with your
friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

WELCOME to those who receive Visions of
Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural
eyesight improvement and that you will find it helpful on your
personal path to clarity.

☺

AVE
2nd PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCE REPORT
The Association of Vision Educators 2nd Professional Conference
was a great success! I am glad I decided to organize this long
overdue gathering with the aim to deepen our knowledge of the
Bates method so we would all go home as even better and more effective
teachers. With 24 colleagues, 8 lectures, 2 workshops, two Q&A
sessions, morning yoga sessions, a business meeting and some social
time too, we achieved what we aimed for. To be among colleagues
from five different countries was a real treat for everyone, especially
for those who got to experience a professional conference for
the very first time. For me, seeing many familiar faces again
and getting to know those new colleagues was a joy and an inspiration,
and we all got so excited that the next conference is already
being planned for September 2016 in Boulder, Colorado! A few photos
and even a short video impression of this year’s conference
are on this website and at the Facebook
event page.

☺

CONGRATULATIONS!
People so often tell me of their wonderful vision progress that
it is normal for me to hear about eyesight improving, but for
many people it is not. Nor do many people pay attention to elders
among us who have perfect eyesight – but I notice and ask
questions!

*
Congratulations to Terre H. (74) in Santa Barbara who
I recently met. This spritely lady has never in her life needed
glasses, and still sees well at all distances. I asked for ‘her
secret for good vision’, and she replied: “just
using it.” She will purposely read any letters at any
distance just for good practice; she uses good light so her eyes
don’t have to work too hard, and her diet is healthy: no
junk foods. She thinks she has been lucky, yet I think she has
managed to keep her eyes nicely relaxed and healthy with her good
habits, and it just goes to prove that losing your vision after
age 40 or 50 absolutely does not have to happen!

* Congratulations to Nora U. (41) in Spain who
completed the e-mail course in May. Nora was using -2.00 glasses
before the course but considered increasing the power to -3.00
to be closer to her full prescription of -5.00. Instead she ended
up using her glasses less and less and stopped using contact lenses
completely. Half-way through the course she wrote: “Suddenly, doing sunning and while moving right and
left, my eyes understood that they were free to move. That there
were no contact lenses to take care of… and I have been
able to feel the freedom by moving them right and left without
the fear of feeling pain. Esther, it has been marvelous !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now, my eyes know that they are free to move!! And, I also felt
how this is related to the neck and head movement! I am very happy
and while I am writing you, I cannot stop SMILING !!!!!!!!”
At the end of the course Nora sent the following feedback:“One of the results of this course is that I have been
convinced on the importance of living without glasses because
my goal is to improve my vision in a natural way. When I started
the course, I was resistant to use the eyechart. I did not like
it. I could not see it as a vision feedback tool. In my opinion,
the way you introduce the eyechart; its use as a feedback tool,
is great!!!! I wanted to improve peripheral vision and with this
course, I achieved it! In relation to periphery, I found very
helpful the lesson where you talk about computers. Thanks to you,
I have adapted my computer (put it higher so that I do not need
to change too much my body posture; free neck/head and breathing).
And now, my eyes do not feel tired as they tended to feel before
doing this course. Sharing your experience and writing as if you
were with me helps a lot. You write as you were talking to me.
Thus, when reading, is like listening to Esther talking to you.
You are very clear and direct. And this is very helpful!”

* Congratulations to John A. in Ojai CA and Paula R. in
Redmond WA who each called me on the same day earlier
this month to tell me they passed their vision test at the DMV.
John did so without glasses despite his vision acuity being worse
than required just one week before his test when he came to see
me for a lesson. Paula passed with a reduced prescription which
at first worried her, yet with a little encouragement she too
came through the test successfully and both were quite relieved
to get their driver’s license renewed.

That's why I love my work! These are just a few recent examples
and, as you may know from previous
newsletters, they are not the only success stories. Congratulations
go to all my students, even if only for having an open mind and
a willingness to try something different. Not everyone sees fast
improvements, yet many benefits become evident over time, and
every step is so worth-while. Keep enjoying your path to clarity!

☺

ESTHER’S
UPDATES
It has been a bit of a crazy busy year so far, but summer is here
and things are calmer and writing work on my new book is going
well.

While my first book Bates
Method Nuggets celebrates its 5th birthday this month,
the 2013 book Read Without
Glasses at Any Age has its first translation ‘sibling’
and is now available in Italian as Leggere Senza Occhiali
A Qualsiasi Eta’. You will find it on Amazon.com
and Amazon.it.
Incredible translation work was done by Dr. Giovannella Pattavina
who has benefited from the Bates Method so much for her own eyesight
that she became an enthusiastic promoter of the Bates Method in
Italy! Thank you, dear Gio!

As far as my travel plans go, I will be in Europe in October-November
2015. I will teach in Treviso/Camposampiero area in Italy from
16 to 28 October, and in Madrid, Spain at the International Holistic
Vision Conference held 30 October to 2 November. Exact dates for
Brunssum, the Netherlands (in early October) will come once I
have booked my flights, and details about that will be sent in
a Dutch newsletter soon.

☺

QUICK
CURES To promise any patient a cure is unwise from a scientific
standpoint. In my work I take particular pains to make the patient
understand that I do not expect or guarantee a cure in any case.
The most I say to them is "Yes, I have cured people much
worse than you, but that is no guarantee that I can give you the
slightest benefit."
This seems to eliminate a certain amount of subconscious antagonism
on the part of the patient, who may consciously say that he desires
to be cured, but deep down in his heart feels unconsciously, "I
don't believe you can do it with my help, and I am quite sure
you can't do it if I oppose you."
Quick cures have their disadvantages. A patient feels that since
his benefit came easily, now, with his good sight, he can go off
at any time he likes and have a spree, in which he stares and
strains and uses his eyes to his heart's content without any danger
of a relapse. He forgets that all persons with normal vision can
acquire imperfect sight at any time.
Personally I am very much upset every time a patient surprises
me with a quick cure, because of the favorable criticism which
may follow and which is seldom desired by the attending physician.
If we could only practice quick cures in favorable cases and not
have to struggle with the obstinate ones, things would get along
perhaps better.
It is well to bear in mind that most quick cures happen when least
expected and we do not always know what particular thing accomplished
it.

W.H. Bates, M.D.,Better Eyesight, April
1925.

☺

Thank
you for reading Visions of Joy News; please share it with your
friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

WELCOME to those who receive Visions
of Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about
natural eyesight improvement and that you will find it helpful
on your personal path to clarity.

☺

REMEMBERING
ROBERT LICHTMANMy dear friend and colleague Robert (Bobby) Lichtman
passed away this month, joining the legion of bright stars
in the sky looking out over us all. He will be much missed
by his wife, his son, his parents, brothers and extended
family, as well as by many of his students whom he helped
with their vision, and by friends like me who admired his
brilliant mind and kind gentle spirit. I want to thank those
of you who prayed for him and his family in the past few
months. In 2005 Bobby wrote an excellent
article on myopia, which is now available on my website.
Please go read it and enjoy Bobby’s insights.

☺

CONGRATULATIONS!
People so often tell me of their wonderful vision progress
that it is normal for me to hear about eyesight improving,
but for many people it is not. So I will share a few recent
stories from my students.

*
Congratulations to J.K. (15) in Idaho, from whom
I received a letter in January to thank me for advice he
found on my website. He wrote (slightly edited for brevity):
In October 2014, due to headaches, my mother
took me to the eye doctor, and they said I needed glasses
for myopia. I was given a small correction for astigmatism.
That night I did a search on how to improve eyesight in
natural ways. I came across a site that advocated eye exercises
and palming to improve eyesight. I tried it, and barely
achieved any success with the exercises, but the palming
stopped the headaches by the time my glasses were finally
made (3 weeks). I only wore them for about half an hour;
they gave me a blasting headache and made my eyes feel very
sluggish, and I have not worn my glasses since. I finally
dropped the eye exercises in January 2015 after I came across
your website that said they only put more strain on your
eyes. Since I started your method, I can now read things
that I used to think were ‘too far away’, objects
are getting clearer in the distance and my eyes feel more
energetic and less tired when I go to bed. When I used to
do the eye exercises my eyes felt tired and watery towards
the end of the day, and the shorter palming I used to do
did very little to rest my eyes since I didn’t do
it right. Since I have been palming your way my eyes feel
much better and more relaxed. I would like to thank you
for putting the true Bates method out on the internet so
that people can improve their eyesight without wearing glasses
or contact lenses or undergoing dangerous surgery. If the
medical world taught the Bates method instead of prescribing
glasses our eye problems would be virtually non-existent.
J.”

I wrote back to J. to answer a few questions he
had about astigmatism, and received the following message
from him in February: (unedited)Dear Esther,It's me (J) again. Several days ago I copied
one of the free eye charts of off your website, and taped
it to the wall, paced out 20 feet. To my intense and great
surprise I found I could read the 20/20 line!!! I intend
to keep going until I reach 20/10, as you recommend on your
website.
I would like to thank you very much for all the invaluable
suggestions and help you've given me so I could see clearly
again. I really appreciate it!!! Also my eyes are almost
never tired at night anymore, and even if they are only
a little tired I palm for 5-10 minutes, and that takes care
of it.
Again, thank you very much for your kind support! It gives
one a very great peace of mind knowing that their vision
is normal again!!!!
Thank you very much for your time!!
J.K.

* Congratulations to Dionne A. (29) in Trinidad
and Tobago who recently began the email course
on natural vision improvement. She writes:Dear Esther,
Thank you for the lessons thus far. I have realized since
the injury to my eyes that I have practiced all of the strained
vision habits and I am now releasing them and relaxing into
seeing. The gentle encouragement and support that you gave
in lesson one helped to soothe my troubled mind and allowed
me to give myself permission to stop pressuring my eyes
to see. I have had instant relief to the muscles in my eyes
that I physically felt, and now they are much happier and
we have an improved relationship.
I had an early appointment with the ophthalmologist because
my vision was temporarily affected by a major headache I
had and the acuity in the left was 20/15; 20/40 right, and
this is after applying your methods in lesson one! What
really struck me was that I simply breezed through the acuity
exam, I didn't think about it as I normally do and pressure
my eyes to see correctly, I simply relaxed and told myself
it is okay if I don't see some of the letters and I got
the best results thus far! I have not practiced strobing
and sunning as yet as most days are pretty rainy here in
Trinidad. I do not have much questions as yet, based on
lesson one, the information is presented In a clear and
logical fashion.
Thank you for your continued support.
Kind regards
Dionne A.

* Congratulations to Dev S. (26) in Sunnyvale, California
Last December Dev started the e-mail course with a prescription
of -5 with -1.25 astigmatism cylinder in his right eye and
-4.75 in his left eye. After just four lessons of the course
he can see clearly with (R) -4.50 without astigmatism and
(L) -4.00. This is a significant improvement which proved
to him that his vision can get better and it has set him
on the path to further clarity. Besides reporting this improvement
in his acuity he also wrote: “I feel a sense of
relaxation, my neck tension has reduced and I have a more
relaxed state of mind. [It was a] great class! Thanks Esther
for you concern and support throughout the course.”

That's why I love my work! These are just a few recent
examples and, as you may know from previous
newsletters, they are not the only success stories.
Congratulations go to all my students, even if only for
having an open mind and a willingness to try something different.
Not everyone sees fast improvements, yet many benefits become
evident over time, and every step is so worth-while. Keep
enjoying your path to clarity!

☺

ESTHER’S
UPDATES
I have made a few adjustments to my 2015
travel schedule.
First of all, I will be away for the next two weeks (1 to
16 March), and will not be checking emails or phonecalls
in this time. Instead I hope to make good progress on my
new book!
Secondly, I will go to Europe in October-November, not in
May, which will make my travel year less hectic and opens
up more time for teaching in Ojai.
The AVE 2nd Professional
Conference is shaping up nicely and I look forward to
seeing many of my vision education colleagues at the beginning
of May here in Southern California!

☺

TIME
FOR PRACTICESo many people with imperfect sight say that they
have not the time to practice relaxation methods, as their
time is taken up at business or in the performance of other
duties. I always tell such people, however, that they have
just as much time to use their eyes correctly as incorrectly.
They can imagine stationary objects to be moving opposite
whenever they move their head and eyes. When the head and
eyes move to the left, stationary objects should appear
to move to the right, and vice versa.
They can remember to blink their eyes in the same way that
the normal eye blinks unconsciously, which is frequently,
rapidly, continuously, without any effort or strain, until
by conscious practice, it will eventually become an unconscious
habit, and one that will be of benefit to the patient.
They can remember to shift or look from one point to another
continuously. When practicing shifting, it is well to let
the head follow in the same direction as the eyes move.
If the eyes move to the right, the head should follow to
the right. If the eyes move to the left, the head should
follow to the left. By practicing in this way, relaxation
is often obtained very quickly.

W.H. Bates, M.D.,Better Eyesight,
January 1929.

☺

Thank
you for reading Visions of Joy News; please share it with
your friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

SEASON'S
GREETINGS to everyone
and WELCOME to
those who receive Visions of Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about
natural eyesight improvement and that you will find it helpful
on your personal path to clarity.

☺

In
honor of Dr. Bates’ birthday today (23 December), an
extra long quote of his:
EXCELLENT VISION AT AGE 65A man of sixty-five,
examined in a moderate light indoors, was found to have a
vision of 20/10. In other words he could see twice as far
as the normal eye is expected to see. He also read diamond
type at less than six inches, and at other distances, to more
than eighteen inches. In reply to a query as to how he came
to possess visual powers so unusual at his age, or, indeed,
at any age, he said that when he was about forty he began
to experience difficulty, at times, in reading. He consulted
an optician who advised glasses. He could not believe, however,
that the glasses were necessary, because at times he could
read perfectly without them. The matter interested him so
much that he began to observe facts, a thing that people seldom
do. He noted, first, that when he tried hard to see either
at the near-point or at the distance, his vision invariably
became worse, and the harder he tried the worse it became.
Evidently something was wrong with this method of using the
eyes. Then he tried looking at things without effort, without
trying to see them. He also tried resting his eyes by closing
them for five minutes or longer, or by looking away from the
page that he wished to read, or the distant object he wished
to see. These practices always improved his sight, and by
keeping them up he not only regained normal vision but retained
it for twenty-five years.

"Doctor," he said, in concluding his story, "when
my eyes are at rest and comfortable, my vision is always good
and I forget all about them. When they do not feel comfortable
I never see so well, and then I always proceed to rest them
until they feel all right again."
...
Persons whose sight is beginning to fail at the near-point,
or who are approaching the presbyopic age, should imitate
the example of this remarkable old gentleman. Get a specimen
of diamond type, and read it every day in an artificial light,
bringing it closer and closer to the eye till it can be read
at six inches or less. Or get a specimen of type reduced by
photography until it is much smaller than diamond type, and
do the same. You will thus escape, not only the necessity
of wearing glasses for reading and near work, but all of those
eye troubles which now so often darken the later years of
life.

W.H. Bates, M.D.,Better Eyesight,
May 1930.

☺

COMPUTER
BREAK SOFTWAREIf you use a
computer more than 2 hours per day I suggest you download
software that reminds you to take breaks from your computer.
I currently use EyeLeo,
a free program that allows me to set my preferred length of
time before taking either short or long breaks from my screen.
Their eyesight reminders are not always completely in line
with Bates, but you can replace any of their suggestions with
your own more relaxed alternatives.

For Mac users there is a free download called ‘Time
Out’ that dims the screen every 10 minutes for 10
seconds and/or every hour for 10 minutes.

This
page lists a few similar break-reminder free downloads
and you will find more options if you google ‘computer
break reminder software.

Another useful program is called Swing Windows, which creates
a swinging motion of the active window on your screen, making
it impossible to stare at the computer. This program can be
downloaded for free from central-fixation.com.
(Swing Windows only works on a PC at present, not on a Mac.)
Although this software has not been updated for some time,
I sometimes still use it on my Windows 7 computer and it works
fine.

☺

ESTHER’S
UPDATES
My visit to Europe a few months ago was amazing, with my first
two weekend workshops in Italy being especially well received,
and plans for more workshops in the Venice area already being
made for 2015. The Italian translation of my book Read
Without Glasses at Any Age will likely be published at
the end of January, which is exciting! A Spanish translation
is just starting, with hopes of having that ready in time
for the International Holistic
Vision Conference in Madrid in November 2015.
My schedule for 2015 is
now up on my website. It will be a busy year, especially as
I am organizing the 2nd
Professional Conference for the Association of Vision Educators,
which will be held in Pacific Palisades the first weekend
of May.
To make sure I am fit and ready for all that, I begin with
taking some time off. The Visions of Joy office will be closed
from now until January 11. I will recharge my batteries, ready
for this new year of eyesight miracles!

☺

CONGRATULATIONS!
People so often tell me of their wonderful vision progress
that it is normal for me to hear about eyesight improving,
but for many people it is not. So I will share a few recent
stories from my students.

*
Congratulations to Gio P. (35+) in Italy who has
just passed her driver’s license renewal test without
glasses! Until 4 years ago she used -3.00 glasses for myopia,
2 years ago she was at -1.75. Then she took my email course
and returned to seeing with natural clarity. ☺
Today Gio writes:Dearest Esther,
It was only last year we met for the first time and I started
doing my Bates' practice with you, and now I can tell happily
that in November 2014 I got my driving license without glasses!
That's great! My eyesight has improved every day ever better,
and now I have long flashes of perfect sight even when the
sun is not shining. The key to me is relaxation.
Every time I have perfect sight I forget my eyes and I can
feel them moving happily, and I enjoy the Light, and the joy
that I can receive through perfect vision. I'm grateful for
meeting you and for doctor Bates, he was a generous genius
and pioneer. Thank you doctor Bates and happy birthday!!!
I love you,
Gio* Congratulations to Zdenko S. in Italy who
has not worn glasses since taking my weekend workshop in Borgoricco
two months ago. ☺
He wrote (in Excellent English for someone from Croatia!):Hy dear Ester,
I am very happy and grateful to you for all informations that
you have give to me. I decided to not wear any more some kind
of glasses and to see ☺
I aprischied [appreciated] your
cours the Visions Of Joy that you have no idea. I told to
doctor Migliorini how much You are professional and with how
much Love you do what you do. I wish to you all the best that
you wish
A nice rigard whit lot of love, Zdenko*
Congratulations to Al Earle, (65+) in Ojai, California.
Al is the dear free-hugs-provider at my local farmers' market,
who hesitantly took off his glasses 4 months ago after some
gentle prodding from me, and he now has completely clear vision,
even when driving at night. Watch for my new book about this:
“Hug your way to better eyesight!” ☺
You can read Al’s
testimonial here. * Congratulations to Mike
White, my Optimal Breathing Coach in North Carolina:Hi Esther,
I am 73, have never had surgery or contacts and do not need
glasses. But sometimes after staring at the computer all day
my eyes get tired and a bit blurry. I use the pinholes a few
times a week. I prefer them outside where the sun is strong.
They really help. I show them to all of my clients and they
are amazed how well they make vision so clear so quickly.
I also palm occasionally.
Michael Grant White, breathing.com

That's
why I love my work! These are just a few recent examples and
they are not the only success stories. Congratulations go
to all my students, even if only for having an open mind and
a willingness to try something different. Not everyone sees
fast improvements, yet many benefits become evident over time,
and every step is so worth-while. Keep enjoying your path
to clarity!

☺

PRAYER
REQUEST FOR ROBERT LICHTMANFor those of you who know my dear colleague Robert
Lichtman (he hosted the effortlessvision.com website and forum),
please send some prayers up for him; he is in great need of
healing. I will be visiting him and his wife today and anyone
interested in updates, let me know via email.

PINHOLE GLASSES
– SPECIAL OFFER - CONTINUES
From January 12th I will continue the recent Christmas offer
on pinhole glasses! Go look at the new style of pinhole glasses,
with smaller pinholes than I have seen before, which increases
your focal range. This makes them more useable for both near
and far vision. Also, the larger number of holes create a
better field of vision with considerably less interruption
from the black plastic.
Go see!
Offer valid until January 31st.

WELCOME to those who receive Visions
of Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural
eyesight improvement and that you will find it helpful on your
personal path to clarity.

☺

PACKING
UP - MOVING A QUARTER MILEAfter six beautiful
years at Full Circle Farm in Ojai, I have found a wonderful
new place to live, right across the road! This week I am packing
my many eyesight books and my few other belongings and will
take them across the road on August 5th, ready for a new chapter
of my life. My new home has a great teaching room which I very
much look forward to using!

☺

ESTHER’S
EUROPE TRAVELS
I will be in Europe September-October 2014, with the Netherlands
as first destination. See the Dutch
newsletter for information on classes in NL.

Italy
is also on my schedule, with a teacher training weekend (4-5
October) and a weekend group class for beginners in the Bates
method (11-12 October). Both will be held in Camposampiero,
near Venice. I will teach in English, translation into Italian
will be provided. Teachers from other countries are also welcome
to the teacher training workshop. (Contact
me for information).

☺

CONGRATULATIONS!
I have been meaning to add this section to the newsletter for
some time, because people so often tell me of their wonderful
progress that it is normal for me to hear about eyesight improving,
but for many people it is not. So I will share a few recent
stories from my students.

*
Congratulations to Nick D. (60+) in Los Angeles who
had one lesson some years ago, but was too busy to implement
what he had learned. Unfortunately he was laid off from work
recently, but has used this free time to finally relax, including
his eyes, and he now reads small print without glasses! He called
yesterday just to say “thank you!”, and I really
appreciated that. ☺* Congratulations to S.T. (age 10) in New Jersey
who had first tried “boring and frustrating eye exercises”
which did not help her vision at all and she was prescribed
glasses. In May she started learning the Bates method with a
few lessons on Skype which brought some exciting improvements
in her sight and her glasses have not been needed. ☺* Congratulations to Gio P. (30+) in Italy
who no longer has bags under her eyes and is experiencing clear
vision on a regular basis now! ☺* Congratulations to Laurie S. (50+) from Santa
Barbara who did not expect she had made much improvement in
her first week of using the Bates method, yet at the start of
her second lesson she easily read a line extra on the chart
for both near and far vision, and by the end she had improved
her near vision from reading 15 point font at 28 inches (arm’s
length) to reading 12 point font at 15 inches and 10 point font
at 20 inches. She surprised herself! ☺* Congratulations to Alan T. (60+) in Ojai
who after one vision session got rid of his glasses as well
as years of major neck tension. A happy side-effect of the Bates
method! ☺* Congratulations to Z.M. (10) in the Netherlands
whose eye doctor has now confirmed that she no longer needs
an operation to straighten her eye, because it is straight all
by itself these days! I helped her undo some eye muscle tension
last October, which she quickly adjusted to. It has helped her
keep her eye straight since that one hour we worked together!
☺

Now
you know why I love my work! These are examples from just the
last few months, and they are not the only success stories.
Congratulations go to all my students, even if only for having
an open mind and a willingness to try something different. Not
everyone sees fast improvements, yet many benefits become evident
over time, and every step is so worth-while. Keep enjoying your
path to clarity!

☺

PRACTICE
ALL THE TIME
A great many people have asked, "How much time should one
devote to practicing the methods of central fixation in order
to be cured of imperfect sight without glasses?"

The
answer is—ALL THE TIME.

One
should secure relaxation or rest until one is perfectly comfortable
and continue feeling comfortable as long as one is awake.

The
feeling of relaxation or comfort can be obtained with the memory
of perfect sight. Even if one cannot remember perfect sight
one can imagine it. All black objects should be imagined perfectly
black. All white objects observed should be imagined perfectly
white. All letters observed should be imagined perfectly and
everything that is seen should be imagined perfectly.

To
imagine anything imperfectly requires a strain, an effort, which
is difficult. Choose the easy way. Imagine.

W.H. Bates, M.D., Better Eyesight, October 1922.

☺

PINHOLE GLASSES – SPECIAL OFFER - CONTINUES
Until the end of August 2014 I continue to offer the second
pair of pinhole glasses for only two dollars! Go look
at the new style of pinhole glasses, with smaller pinholes than
I have seen before, which increases your focal range. This makes
them more usable for both near and far vision. Also, the larger
number of holes create a better field of vision with considerably
less interruption from the black plastic.
Get them now!
Offer valid until August 31st or until sold out, whichever comes
first…

☺

Thank
you for reading Visions of Joy News; please share it with your
friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

WELCOME to those who receive Visions of
Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural
eyesight improvement and that you will find it helpful on your
personal path to clarity.

☺

DR.
BATES’ MEDICAL ARTICLESMuch
of Dr. Bates vision research was published in the major medical
journals of his time, such as the New York Medical Journal. I
have found 33 of these medical articles so far, and I expect this
collection to be complete.

These articles span much of Dr.
Bates’ 45-year career, from his early years when he still
followed the medical model and performed eye surgeries, to his
later years when he had left that medical model behind and was
purely teaching his patients how to cure their own eyesight without
glasses.

TREATMENT OF MYOPIA
WITHOUT GLASSES
The following is a quote from one of the earlier medical articles
written by Dr. Bates. It shows he is already changing to a much
more holistic model of eye care.

A
number of other cases of myopia (with good vision) have been observed
where the vision was not materially improved by glasses. The fact
which has suggested treatment of the vision of axial myopia without
glasses is: "Cases of myopia occur in which the vision is
good and in which glasses do not materially improve the vision."
As a general rule, it may be stated that treatment of the vision
of myopia without glasses will improve the vision to what it was
previously with glasses. […] If they gave their eyes as
much attention as some people do their teeth, many cases of acute
myopia would obtain permanent relief from the use of glasses.

W.H. Bates, M.D., The Medical Record, 27 January 1894.

☺

PINHOLE GLASSES – SPECIAL OFFER
For the month of June 2014 I offer the second pair of
pinhole glasses for only two dollars! Go look at the
new style of pinhole glasses, with smaller pinholes than I have
seen before, which increases your focal range. This makes them
more usable for both near and far vision. Also, the larger number
of holes create a better field of vision with considerably less
interruption from the black plastic.
Get them now!
Offer valid until June 30th or until sold out, whichever comes
first…

☺

ESTHER’S TRAVEL
SCHEDULE
My current travel plans will take me
to Europe around the middle of September 2014, with the
Netherlands as my first destination. There may be a group
class in either Rijswijk or Harderwijk which is in the planning
stages. Anyone interested in taking lessons from me (either private
lessons in Brunssum, or a one day group class in Rijswijk or Harderwijk)
please contact me.

Italy
is also on my schedule, with a teacher training weekend in Milan
(4-5 October) and a weekend group class for beginners in the Bates
method in Padua (11-12 October).
There is a good chance that my recent book ‘Read Without
Glasses at Any Age’ will be available in Italian by then!!
An announcement about this will follow in due course.

Contents
of this issue:- Welcome!
- How to help your child see better and avoid glasses
- The Bates Method is not a set of eye exercises
- The last few Eyeports
- Vision Aids that support your path to clarity
- Follow the Bates Method on Facebook

☺

WELCOME to those who receive Visions of
Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural
eyesight improvement and that you will find it helpful on your
personal path to clarity.

☺

NEW CHILDREN’S PAGE
ON VISIONS OF JOY
It is impossible for me to help every child in the world see better,
yet I wish I could! Children can keep or regain good vision with
more ease than adults do. With a short list of “Do and Don’t
Do’s” parents can have a positive impact on their
child’s visual health. So I have added a Children’s
Vision page which gives parents basic advice that they can
implement easily for the benefit of their child’s eyesight.
I have included links to a few research papers, such as one that
recommends you avoid using night lights in the child’s room
during the first two years of life, because darkness helps the
developing eyes avoid myopia. I trust it will be useful and I
welcome questions and comments from parents!

☺

THE BATES METHOD IS NOT A SET OF EYE EXERCISES
One important point I have made for a long time is that the Bates
Method is far from being a simple set of eye exercises or forced
eye movements. This misunderstanding is so common that I felt
it was time to dedicate a page just to explain Dr.
Bates’ point of view on the topic of eye exercises.
Hopefully people new to the Bates Method, curious about what to
do to improve their eyesight, can save themselves lots of time
and effort, can avoid the mistakes that I and others made, and
can start relaxing into clear vision sooner!

☺

EYEPORTS
Thanks to the people who responded to my recent call for Eyeports!
Rather than being completely sold out I now have five
new Eyeports left in stock and also have one used unit available
for rent. Two vision challenges that I think especially benefit
from Eyeport use are suppression issues (one eye highly dominant)
and astigmatism. The Eyeport provides a playful and easy way to
regain balance in your eyes so these issues disappear. They will
soon be sold out forever, so if you feel you would benefit from
it, contact me soon.

☺

VISION AIDS THAT
SUPPORT YOUR PATH TO CLARITY
Besides the Eyeport I have a variety of other vision
aids available, such as palming supports, the Mindfold, pinhole
glasses, boomerang bounce balls, bookmarks, and miniature bibles
with teeny-tiny print! You will make more progress on your path
to clarity with these useful and fun tools.

Contents
of this issue:- Welcome
- New Palming Supports available
- Eat leafy greens to see clearly
- Eyesight lessons in Arizona this month
- Eyeports are out of production - Do you have one?
- Bookmarks back in stock
- Video clips added to Visions of Joy’s Youtube channel

☺

WELCOME to those who receive Visions of
Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural
eyesight improvement and that you will find it helpful on your
personal path to clarity.

☺

NEW
PALMING SUPPORTSAVAILABLE
Have you discovered the amazing benefits of palming for your eyes?
Most every one sees better after covering their eyes to rest them
for a few minutes. For longer sessions and even better results,
it is nice to support your elbows at the perfect level for you.
Palming supports are adjustable in height and help you keep good
posture and relaxed shoulders while palming. This allows for longer
sessions because your arms rest comfortably on the cushioned support.
Visions of Joy's new palming supports are available now! More information on palming
supports
Handmade in the USA by a vision student who loves to palm and
who loves to tinker too; thanks Steve!

☺

EAT LEAFY GREENS TO SEE CLEARLY
Lutein and zeaxanthin, which are carotenoids found in leafy greens
like kale, travel to the central area of the retina (called the
macula), and are the only known carotenoids located in the human
visual system. Previous research has shown that these pigments
are protective against age-related macular degeneration. Scientists
now have evidence that these macular pigments also play important
roles in visual performance.
Read the full article.

☺

EYESIGHT LESSONS IN ARIZONA THIS MONTH
I will be teaching in Chandler and
the Phoenix area of Arizona from Saturday 22 February until
Sunday 2 March. Anyone interested in eyesight lessons in that
period, please let me know soon!

☺

EYEPORTS ARE OUT
OF PRODUCTION – DO YOU HAVE ONE?
Dr. Jacob Liberman’s wonderful Eyeport
machine helped me tremendously with my depth perception, and
I often recommend it to others who want to improve binocularity
in a fun and easy way. So I was sad to hear that these ingenious
machines are now out of production!
Luckily I managed to buy the last few units from Dr. Liberman,
but even so I currently have less than ten units left in stock.
Because of this I am interested to hear from anyone who bought
an Eyeport and no longer needs it for their vision. If your unit
is in working order, or even if it is not but you have working
parts, please contact me!

☺

NEW VIDEO
CLIPS ADDED TO VISIONS OF JOY’S YOUTUBE CHANNELOn
Visions of Joy's own Youtube channel now has seven clips from
the recent "Here's to your Health" TV show as well as
the complete interview. Enjoy!

☺

Thank
you for reading Visions of Joy News; please share it with your
friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

WELCOME to those who receive
Visions of Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural
eyesight improvement and that you will find it helpful on your
personal path to clarity.

☺

TV INTERVIEW THIS
TUESDAY – 14 January 2014
Josh Lane, host of “Here’s to your Health”,
saw my recent TV interview and promptly invited me on his show.
We will talk about my work with the Bates Method from 1:30pm to
2:00pm Pacific time.
(That's 4:30-5pm Eastern, 9:30-10pm in UK, 10:30-11pm in Central
Europe.)
If you want to watch the show live, tune
in to LA Talk Live.
[Edit: You can now also watch it on Visions
of Joy's Youtube channel!]

☺

BATES METHOD NUGGETS NOW ALSO ON AMAZON
Published in 2010, and slightly revised in 2013, my first book
Bates Method Nuggets is now also available on amazon.com.

READ WITHOUT GLASSES BOOK

If
you use reading glasses (or are about to need them) you will want
to get all the tips from my new book: Read Without Glasses
at Any Age. It is easy to buy, either from myself,
from amazon,
or from your local bookstore. You will find all the relevant information
at readwithoutglasses.com.
Reviews for either book are also very welcome; I would love to
hear your experience!

☺

EYESIGHT LESSONS IN ARIZONA IN FEBRUARY
I will be teaching in Arizona again at the end of February 2014.
My current likely dates for visiting
Chandler and Phoenix are 22 February until 2 March. Anyone
interested in eyesight lessons in that period, please let
me know soon!

☺

MYOPIA COMPLETE RECOVERY
"Glasses are often prescribed in the first stage of acquired
myopia, when treatment of the spasm of accommodation by appropriate
hygienic, local, or constitutional measures would have cured the
nearsightedness without glasses.

It is the rule that acute diseases of the lungs, stomach, and
other parts of the body tend to complete recovery, and the same
fact is true of the eye. Acute myopia is usually a functional
disease, and glasses should never be prescribed until treatment
to relieve spasm of the accommodation has failed."

William H. Bates,
M.D., Treatment of Myopia without Glasses,
The Medical Record, January 27, 1894, p104

☺

VISIONS
OF JOY’S OWN YOUTUBE CHANNELOn
Visions of Joy's own Youtube channel you will find my vision
videos! Ten short clips from The Book Beat TV show have already
been uploaded, more will follow over time. I hope you find it
educational!

WELCOME to those who receive
Visions of Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural
eyesight improvement and that you will find it helpful on your
personal path to clarity.

☺

TV INTERVIEW TODAY!
LA Talk Live (latalklive.com) has a show called ‘The Book
Beat’ every Monday night, and today, 25 November 2013, I
will be interviewed on this show for half an hour about my new
book “Read without Glasses at Any Age”. The host is
Jean-Noel Bassior, who is very familiar with my work, so I expect
it will be a great interview! The show starts at 6:30pm Pacific
time. If you want to see it live, tune in at www.latalklive.com/new/thebookbeat.
If you are busy at 6:30pm or you are in Europe and do not want
to get up in the middle of the night - no problem! The show will
also be in their archives, so you can watch it at your convenience.

☺

READ WITHOUT GLASSES BOOK

If
you have already bought and read my new book, thank you!!! I would
love to hear your experience with it. Reviews are also welcome
on
amazon.

If
you use reading glasses (or are about to need them) and you have
not yet read this book, please gift it to yourself! It is easy
to buy; either from myself or from amazon. You will find all the
relevant information at readwithoutglasses.com.

☺

ESTHER'S TRAVEL SCHEDULEI have recently returned
from two and a half amazing months in Europe, which ended with
ten fabulous days in Italy. The International Holistic Vision
Conference near Milan was inspirational, I loved connecting with
many colleagues and I have made several new dear friends! I already
look forward to teaching in Italy again in October 2014. Stay
tuned…

In the
nearer future you will find me teaching in Arizona again at the
end of February 2014. My dates for visiting Chandler
and Phoenix are from 22 February until 2 March. Anyone interested
in eyesight lessons in that period, please let me know soon!

☺

ESTHER’S “STORIES
FROM THE CLINIC”
In 1926, Emily Lierman, Dr. Bates’ assistant, published
a book called ‘Stories from the Clinic’ in which she
related her experiences in helping people, and especially children,
regain good eyesight. Emily’s stories touch my heart, and
she has been an inspiration to me ever since I started teaching.
It may be time to compile my own ‘stories from the clinic’,
as I am honored and grateful to witness wonderful changes in people’s
vision. Here is one example.

One of my teaching highlights during
this recent European trip happened in the Netherlands where a
ten year old girl came to see me because she had begun to experience
blurry and double vision a few months earlier. Her left eye was
turning out. Her eye doctor had suggested that surgery to straighten
the eye might be in her future but recommended waiting for the
condition to stabilize, while also suggesting that she needed
relaxation. The girl’s mother googled ‘eyesight and
relaxation’, found the Dutch book ‘Natuurlijk
Zien en de Bates Methode’ which my colleague Saskia
Naber and I wrote a few years ago, and she helped her daughter
use its recommendations. Palming had already solved the blurry
vision but not yet the double vision, so they made an appointment
with me as I happened to be in the Netherlands that week.

We began with varying the distance
between the two double images she saw, to help her notice that
she had some control over her left eye. She also practiced looking
at her nose to encourage the left eye to come in. The tension
in her left extra-ocular muscle prevented her left eye from coming
all the way back to center, so I had her palm her eyes for a while
and then taught her how to see without tension. Within one hour
of working together she achieved relaxation of that left extra-ocular
muscle which was pulling her eye outwards, so her left eye straightened
and her binocular vision returned and stayed. It was a true delight
to watch her achieve this so quickly! (update on 27 November 2013: I just heard from the mother
of this girl that she is still enjoying single vision. It is now
one month since I saw her. She has rare occassions of double vision
but those don't last long and both mother and daughter are very
happy with this.)

☺

TOPSY
“The patients who come to our clinic do wonderful things,
especially the school children. We can give each one of them,
as a rule, only about five minutes of our time, and yet they are
able to carry out their instructions at home, and to get results.
This is a great tribute to their patience and intelligence.

Most of the children and adults
arc helped by palming, and remarkable cures have been obtained
by this means alone. A little lad had been so injured in an automobile
accident that he had only light perception in his left eye. It
was some time before I could get him to palm regularly, but as
soon as he became willing to do so many times a day, his sight
began to improve rapidly, and he is now completely cured.

There are some patients, however,
who cannot or will not palm. One of these was a little girl with
corkscrew curls, looking for all the world like Topsy of "Uncle
Tom's Cabin." She had been sent to the clinic because she
could not see the writing on the blackboard, and the school nurse
told me later that she was unruly, and a great trial to her teacher.
She was something of a trial to me, too, at first, for I could
not get her to palm for a moment, and did not know what to do
with her. Then I discovered that she had an excellent memory when
she chose to use it, and I resolved to treat her with its aid.
I was able to improve her sight considerably.”

Emily Lierman, Stories
from the Clinic, 1926

☺

Thank
you for reading Visions of Joy News; please share it with your
friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

WELCOME to those who receive
Visions of Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural
eyesight improvement and that you will find it helpful on your
personal path to clarity.

☺

READ WITHOUT GLASSES BOOK - OFFICIAL PUBLICATION
TODAY! I am delighted to announce
that the official publication of Read Without Glasses at Any
Age is today!

Imagine easily reading menus by candlelight and impressing
your friends by doing so with your own healthy eyes, free
from crutches. Or imagine no longer peering over glasses to
see people across the room. Won’t that be nice?!

If these thoughts appeal to you, this book is for you! Whether
your age is 46-ish or 86+, and even if you are only six and just
learning to read, this book can be a valuable tool for helping
you get past your reading challenges. The methods outlined in
this book are simple, easy to learn and just as easy to apply.
It does take some time and persistence, but the rewards are huge
– a return to natural clear vision, healthier eyes, and
easy, glasses-free reading.

Read Without Glasses at Any Age will be available as
of today, Thursday, August 15th. You can choose to buy a paperback
or an e-book.
The paperback price is $21.95 in the USA, while the e-book is
US$19.00.
Read Without Glasses at Any Age will also be for sale on
CreateSpace.com (in the USA for $21.95, in the UK for £14.99,
in Europe for €16.99). An Amazon kindle version will likely
be available soon too. UPDATE: Amazon
now has the book on their website too!!!

The Amazon/CreateSpace version of the book has black and white
illustrations throughout, while in the book sold via Visions of
Joy, eight of the images are in color. Other than that they are
identical inside. As I will be traveling in Europe from 21 August
until mid-November I recommend that you purchase the paperback
book from Amazon/CreateSpace unless you order it from me before
August 19 or after November 7.

☺

ESTHER'S TRAVEL TO EUROPEI am about to go on
a 11-week trip to Europe. Visits to
the Netherlands, England, Turkey and Italy are on the agenda,
all between 21 August and 7 November.
A couple of group classes are being planned in the Netherlands
for October, and I will present a workshop
at the International Holistic Vision Conference in Italy in November.
There is time for private lessons too, mainly while I am in the
Netherlands in September and October. Contact
me for more information or wait for the Dutch newsletter which
will be sent to Dutch subscribers soon.

☺

READING

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.
As by the one, health is preserved, strengthened
and invigorated; by the other, sight, imagination
and mental efficiency are enormously improved.

William H. Bates, M.D., Better Eyesight, May 1926

☺

Thank
you for reading Visions of Joy News; please share it with your
friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

Contents
of this issue:- Welcome
- Read Without Glasses book close to publication!
- LED lights better or worse for your eyes?
- Upcoming Events
- Dr. Bates - The First Visit

☺

WELCOME to those who receive
Visions of Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural
eyesight improvement and that you will find it helpful on your
personal path to clarity.

☺

READ WITHOUT GLASSES BOOK CLOSE TO PUBLICATIONThe good news is that,
after more than a year of delays, the illustrations for the Read
Without Glasses book are now complete! I am making a few last
changes to the book to incorporate some medical research on the
subject, but it will soon be going to the printer, and the next
newsletter will have publication information, I promise! You can
see a preview of the cover here.

☺

LED LIGHTS: BETTER OR WORSE FOR YOUR EYES?
ANSES
highlights risks from LED lighting
ANSES, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational
Health & Safety, has published a report entitled (in English):
" Lighting systems using light-emitting diodes: health issues
to be considered," which focuses squarely on potential problems
caused by LED lighting.

The full report is available in
French only, but the report summary (in English) says that risks
have been identified concerning the use of certain LED lamps,
raising potential health concerns for the general population and
professionals.
"The issues of most concern identified by the Agency concern
the eye due to the toxic effect of blue light and the risk of
glare," says the report, adding that the blue light necessary
to obtain white LEDs causes "toxic stress" to the retina.
This is from an article by LEDs magazine, you can read
more here.

☺

ESTHER'S SCHEDULEArizona Visit In May:
I will be in Chandler for a week at the end of May. Private lessons
in the Phoenix area are available May 20th through 27th and can
be booked now.

Europe: A LONG visit to Europe this year - from
the end of August until early November - with family gatherings
in the Netherlands and the International
Holistic Vision Conference in Italy, but also with plenty
of time for teaching.
If you are interested in having eyesight lessons in the Netherlands
or in Italy, please contact me.

THE FIRST VISIT"In every way possible the fact is impressed
upon the patient that he can be cured only by rest; that he must
learn to let his eyes alone; that whatever he does to improve
his sight must be wrong."

Dr. William H. Bates,
M.D., Better Eyesight, November 1921

☺

I
can’t agree more. In essence, vision is simply a process
of receiving light.
The more you can be open to all that light, without straining
against it or straining to change it, the better you see. Keep
that in mind all day long, and your path to clarity will be one
of ease and joy.

Thank
you for reading Visions of Joy News; please share it with your
friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

WELCOMEto those who receive
Visions of Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural
eyesight improvement and that you will find it helpful on your
personal path to clarity.

☺

EUROPE VISITSWith the British Natural
Eyesight Conference, a quick side-trip to Paris, private eyesight
lessons in the Netherlands and two group classes in Harderwijk,
my recent visit to Europe was very busy!

ARIZONA VISIT IN FEBRUARY 2013I will be in Chandler
for a week at the beginning of February. Private lessons in the
Phoenix area are available February 4th through 10th and can be
booked now.Contact Esther for an appointment.

☺

EYESTRAIN DURING SLEEP
“Many people complain that when they first wake up in the
morning, they are tired, that they have headaches, and that their
sight is very imperfect. Later on in the day their eyes feel better,
and the vision may become normal.

I have examined with the ophthalmoscope
the eyes of many people during sleep and found much to my surprise,
that most people strain much more in their sleep than they ever
do when they are awake. Of course, people when unconscious of
their acts during sleep, are not aware of this eye-strain.

The prevention of eye-strain during
sleep is usually a very difficult matter. Some cases are benefited
just before retiring by palming for one-half hour or longer, or
until they go to sleep while palming. Others by practicing the
long swing for fifteen minutes, have found that the eye-strain
becomes less. In some serious cases with imperfect sight, when
the eye-strain is not prevented by palming or the swing, they
are often materially benefited by shortening their hours of sleep
with the help of an alarm clock. One patient had the alarm set
for 3 am. He would then get out of bed and practice the long swing,
alternating with palming for an hour or longer with the result
that he slept the rest of the night very comfortably, and awoke
the next morning with little or no evidence of eye-strain during
sleep.

Dr. William H. Bates,
M.D., Better Eyesight, November 1924

☺

HAPPY
HOLIDAYS!
Visions of Joy will be closed from December 21st until January
2nd.
I wish everyone a happy holiday season and I hope you get some
relaxing sleep!

☺

Thank
you for reading Visions of Joy News; please share it with your
friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

Contents
of this issue:- Welcome!
- Testimonial of an 8 year old girl
- Travel plans: Arizona to Oregon road trip, and Europe
- Dr. Bates on
Breathing
- Two new 'Bates Method View' e-books
- Become a fan of the Facebook Bates Method page

☺

WELCOMEto those who receive Visions of Joy News for
the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural
eyesight improvement and that you will find it helpful on your
personal path to clarity.

☺

TESTIMONIAL
In July I received a delightful phonecall from the mother of
an 8 year old girl in Arizona. She was very excited to report
substantial improvement in her daughter's vision since learning
the Bates method six months earlier. Read
her testimonial here.
Many people benefit from learning the Bates method, but when
it comes to children it touches me even deeper. I'm so grateful!

☺

TRAVEL PLANS
- ARIZONA TO OREGON ROAD TRIPI will be in the Phoenix
area for a few days at the beginning of September.
Private lessons are available September 3rd through 6th and
can be booked now: Contact me.
My itinerary takes me through Utah and Idaho
7-9 September.

Approximately 10 to 17 September
you’ll find me in Oregon, in the Portland
and Salem areas. Inquire
now if you are interested in a private lesson while I’m
there.Northern California private lessons are possible
on my drive home in the week of 18 September.

-
EUROPEThe British
Natural Eyesight Conference brings me back to Europe at
the end of October 2012. On Saturday 27 October I present a
talk on how the Bates method helps overcome eye diseases and
on Sunday 28 October I give a workshop on reading without glasses
at any age.

As usual my Europe trip will
include a visit with my family in the Netherlands. This time
my colleague Rijn de Jonge and I will teach two group classes
in Ermelo on the Bates method. I’ve had many inquiries
for a group class in the Netherlands, so here is your chance!
You have a choice of 10 or 11 November and each day is intended
for people interested in learning how to naturally improve or
maintain vision. Maximum of 8 people per day. Register
here. More info follows in the Dutch newsletter coming soon.

☺

DR. BATES ON BREATHING
Dr. Bates learned the importance of relaxed breathing through
his own experience. He wanted to be a long distance runner but
found that after one lap of the track he was gasping for air.
The physical director watched him and told him that he had held
his breath the entire distance. Bates realized it was strain
that kept him from breathing. He tested this theory and ran
8 miles, making every effort he could, until his vision failed,
he fainted and he literally ran himself into the ground. In
his next race he started walking as soon as his sight began
to fail and waited for it to clear up before running again.
Bates subsequently learned to stay relaxed while running, so
his breathing remained normal and his sight did not fail. He
even ran the New York marathon at age 57.

Bates knew that many people with imperfect sight are benefited
by relaxed breathing and that palming often provides an immediate
improvement in breathing. A lady with asthma found that half
an hour of palming did as much good for her breathing as it
did for her eyes. Her vision improved from 20/30 to 15/10.and
she was able to resume work which asthma had prevented her from
doing for four years.

TWO NEW
'BATES METHOD VIEW' E-BOOKS
I recently added two new titles to the ‘Bates Method View
of” series of
e-books. The topics are Nystagmus, and Retinitis Pigmentosa.
With 22 and 26 pages respectively these are easy to read books
which give an overview of everything Dr. Bates did for people
with these conditions.
Go here to order one or more books in this series.

WELCOMEto those who receive
Visions of Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural
eyesight improvement and that you will find it helpful on your
personal path to clarity.

☺

VISIONS OF JOY’S TENTH ANNIVERSARY
Time truly flies when I am having fun; I celebrated Visions Of
Joy’s 10th anniversary recently!
On 30 January 2002 I was in Arizona, and had just spent a few
days camping in the desert to seek guidance on what I was supposed
to do next in my life… I was given a name for my school.
The message was clear enough, and from then on I became more serious
about teaching. To be back in Arizona exactly 10 years later,
busier than ever with my work, and still very happy about the
direction my life took, is something I am very grateful for. Thanks
to all of you who have crossed my path in these ten years - you
have helped to make it so worth-while!

☺

ARIZONA SUCCESS STORIESThe last two weeks of
January I was kept very busy by a group of about 16 kids in Arizona,
(mostly ages 7 to 12) whose parents wanted to save them from the
hassle of wearing glasses for the rest of their lives. I worked
with each child individually and loved watching the progress they
made in a very short time. Here are two examples:

Téa
(age 8) told me up front that she hates'tupid eye exercises'
because they did not work (and I agree!). Her right eye is excellent,
8/7 (better than 20/20), but her left eye was beginning to lag
behind, to the level of 8/30 (20/75). Glasses had already been
recommended, but her mother, who hates her own glasses, was hoping
to save her daughter from the same fate. Téa, however,
was reluctant to try anything remotely like those stupid eye exercises,
until I explained that there was a better way to improve her vision.
To Téa's delight she saw her left eye's acuity jump
to 8/15 (20/40) after ten minutes of palming. Adding a memory
technique helped her recognize several letters on the 8/10 (20/25)
line. I imagine she still happily runs around with her eye-patch
even after she no longer needs it.

Sudhaker (age
11) has had vision challenges since birth and had become ‘one
with his glasses’. His prescription was mainly for astigmatism,
but he also had a highly dominant right eye to the level of excluding
his left eye from taking part in seeing. He loved the bounce-ball
I gave him and quickly learned to catch it even with one eye patched.
He also got his eyes working together for the first time. We obscured
half the chart for his right eye, and encouraged his left eye
to see the whole chart. At first half the chart ‘disappeared’
from his view with both eyes open, but when his mother helpfully
waved her hand over the side of the chart that was only visible
to his left eye, Sudhaker got a taste of binocular vision for
the first time. He did extremely well and has great potential
to get back to clarity, with both eyes eventually taking an equal
part in vision.

I will likely
return to Arizona next year in January/February, to continue working
with these children as well as help others who I was unable to
include in this trip.

☺

SUNLIGHT
FOR YOUR EYESOn my recent visit to Arizona I noticed how many
people like to keep their window shades down to keep the hot sun
out. I understand about their heat problem, yet the eyes would
love to have more light! Even in sun-drenched Arizona many people
are ‘sunlight deficient’ and a little more outdoors
sun exposure will help bring balance. Here is Dr. Bates' advice
on sunlight:

"An
important part of the routine activities is the use of the direct
sunlight. The patient is told to sit in the sun with his eyes
closed, moving his head a short distance from side to side, and
allowing the sun to shine directly on his closed eyelids. He is
instructed to forget about his eyes, to think of something pleasant
and let his mind drift from one pleasant thought to another. Before
opening his eyes, he palms for a few minutes."

W. H. BATES, M.D., Better Eyesight magazine, December 1927

☺

“I
have been LOVING the fact that I'm no longer sensitive to sunlight.
Sunshine on my face is an instant happiness boost!”
Saskia P., Sebastopol, California

BECOME
A FAN OF THE FACEBOOK BATES METHOD PAGEHave a look at the new Facebook
page dedicated to Dr. Bates. I add vision quotes there on
a fairly regular basis. Become a fan to encourage me to do so!

☺

READING
WITHOUT GLASSES BOOKI’m excited that my new book “Reading
Without Glasses At Any Age” is so close to being published!
More details about that soon. Thanks to everyone who has already
expressed an interest in this book and thanks for waiting ☺

☺

Thank
you for reading Visions of Joy News; please share it with your
friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

Contents
of this issue:- Welcome!
- A new Facebook page-
Reading without Glasses book
- Recent Holistic Vision Conference in Italy
- An amazed eye doctor
- 'Relaxation from fine print' by Dr. Bates
- 2012 Schedule has been posted

☺

WELCOMEto those who receive
Visions of Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural
eyesight improvement and that you will find it helpful on your
personal path to clarity.

☺

A NEW FACEBOOK PAGEHave a look at the brand
new Facebook page
dedicated to Dr. Bates. I will be adding many of his quotes
there on a fairly regular basis. Become a fan to encourage me to
do so!

☺

READING
WITHOUT GLASSES BOOK

My
new book “Reading Without Glasses At Any Age” is waiting
for the final illustrations but the text is ready so I hope to
have publication information very soon! For those eagerly awaiting
this book, see the tip below from Dr. Bates to get you started.

☺

RECENT HOLISTIC VISION CONFERENCE
IN ITALYI immensely enjoyed seeing so
many colleagues again at the recent International Holistic Vision
Conference in Italy. Plenty of new friends were made too. My
thanks to all who attended! I found out that many vision books
are available in Italian, and my Bates Method Nuggets book may
get translated into Italian as well as Spanish! More info on
that in due course.

☺

AN AMAZED EYE DOCTORCindy recently asked
for my help with her nearsighted vision. Her prescription in both
eyes was -2.25. Two days after we started working together she
visited her optometrist to ask for a lower prescription. As she
felt a little unsure about driving at night in the coming dark
and wet New York winter months, she decided that dropping half
a diopter would be plenty to start with.

Her optometrist was uncomfortable with the idea of giving Cindy
contacts below her prescription, but offered to check her acuity.
To Cindy’s delight, and to the doctor’s utter amazement,
her prescription had already dropped half a diopter to -1.75!
So the doctor became willing to give those lenses to her, but
Cindy no longer wanted -1.75 and asked for an extra step down.
She drove home happily in -1.50s and saw just fine. Congratulations
to Cindy for taking that excellent first step to clarity.

☺

RELAXATION
FROM FINE PRINTA business card with fine print on one side is
held in front of the eyes as near as possible, the upper part
in contact with the eye-brows, the lower part resting lightly
on the nose.

The
patient looks directly at the fine print without trying to see.
Being so close to the eyes most people realize that it is impossible
to read the fine print and do not try, in this way they obtain
a measure of relaxation which is sufficient to benefit the sight
very much.

The
patient moves the card from side to side a short distance slowly
and sees the card moving provided the movement is not too short
or too slow. The shorter the movement and the slower it is, the
better.

Some
patients, although the card is held very close, note that the
white spaces between the lines become whiter and the black letters
become blacker and clearer. In some cases one or more words of
the fine print will be seen in flashes or even continuously as
long as no effort is made to see or to read the fine print.

W. H. BATES, M.D., Better Eyesight magazine, May 1922

P.S. For best results Dr.Bates recommended doing this as long
as possible, even for many hours every day. Vary the hand which
holds the card to avoid fatigue. The amount of light is not important.

☺

2012
SCHEDULE HAS BEEN POSTEDMy schedule
for the new year is now up on the website and will be updated
as and when necessary. There is a distinct possibility that I
will be teaching in Phoenix, Arizona, in January. Those who live
in that area and would like to have private lessons, please get
in touch with me soon.

☺

HAPPY
HOLIDAYS, and my best wishes for
a happy and healthy new year filled with clarity!!!

☺

Thank
you for reading Visions of Joy News; please share it with your
friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

WELCOMEto those who receive Visions of Joy News for
the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural
eyesight improvement and that you will find it helpful on your
personal path to clarity.

☺

INTERNATIONAL HOLISTIC VISION
CONFERENCE IN ITALY

For
European fans of the Bates method, the International Holistic
Vision Conference will be held near Milano, Northern Italy,
28-30 October 2011. I will talk about Bates' work with children
and I will give a workshop on reading without glasses. Registration
is still possible!

☺

READING WITHOUT GLASSES BOOK

My
new book “Reading Without Glasses At Any Age” is
now very close to completion and it just needs a few finishing
touches before it is ready to send to the printer. The plan
was to have it ready for the conference in Italy, but it will
be published soon after that. As preparations for my trip to
Europe are now in full swing, the book will be finished after
my return home, so watch for a publication announcement in the
next newsletter!

☺

STUDENT BECOMES TEACHER

There
is an old saying: When you really want to learn something, teach
it!
This summer I received a letter from Alex Svirid, a student
of the Bates method in Ukraine. Alex took my email course earlier
this year. Since then, not only has he improved his own vision,
but he is helping other people improve too, including his optometrist!
Well done Alex! He wrote:

“Dear
Esther, Two days ago I visited optometrist and checked my eyesight
with refractometer. It showed 1 Diopter improvement in two months.
I have flashes to about -5D now (I can see clearly at 20cm).
I asked optometrist to try the Method and he agreed. He has
hypermetropia and he wears bifocal glasses: +5,5 for close work
(lower part of lens) and +2,75 for distance (upper part of lens).
His vision was 20/200 without glasses. In one hour he made 5
lines! Sway and swing helped him.”

☺

BE
COMFORTABLE

It
can be stated without fear of successful contradiction that
persons with perfect sight are always comfortable, not only
as to their eyes, but as to the rest of the body. As soon as
they cease to be so, it can be demonstrated, by examination
with the retinoscope, that their sight has ceased to be perfect.
They become nearsighted, farsighted, or astigmatic.

Persons
with imperfect sight often say and think that they are perfectly
comfortable; but invariably such persons experience a feeling
of relief when they close their eyes, demonstrating that they
were not perfectly comfortable before, but had merely formed
a habit of ignoring that discomfort.

The art of learning to use the eyes properly, is, in short,
the art of learning to be comfortable. Even the memory of comfort
improves the sight, while the memory of discomfort lowers it.

W. H. BATES, M.D., Better Eyesight magazine, January 1922

☺

Thank
you for reading Visions of Joy News; please share it with your
friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

WELCOMEto those who receive
Visions of Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural
eyesight improvement and that you will find it helpful on your
personal path to clarity.

☺

ABUNDANT OPPORTUNITIES FOR VISION LESSONS

The
new teaching room is ready! It took a little longer than expected
(what doesn’t?), but the new room here in Ojai, California
is ready and beautiful! I look forward to welcoming new and old
students alike in this new abode.

My attendance at the International
Conference on Light and Vision in San Diego, California this week
(28-30 April) means there are a few opportunities for private
lessons in that area. Contact me now
for an appointment.

More Northern
Californians will have the opportunity to hear me speak at the
Raw Health Expo in Sebastopol, 23-24 July.

A
‘side-trip’ to Sequim, Washington and Salem, Oregon
will see me on the road for most of July. If you would like help
with your vision and you are more or less near I-5 between Sacramento
and Seattle, let me know.

For
European fans of the Bates method, the International Holistic
Vision Conference will be held near Milano, Northern Italy, 28-30
October 2011. Esther will present a lecture as well as a workshop
there. This also means I will visit Brunssum, the Netherlands,
and private lessons can be arranged for mid October.

☺

A
DIFFERENT TESTIMONIAL

A
friend from Sweden whose eyesight was lost due to Retinitis Pigmentosa
came to visit me in California for a couple of weeks. We worked
a lot on his vision in that time. He is a musician and was inspired
to write a song about this experience. I will let Johan's song
tell you his story. You
can listen here on Sverige Radio
Click on the 17.00-17.30 timeslot (2nd link on that page) and
slide the timer (at the bottom of the page) over to 10mins 40seconds
for the start of a live recording of Johan's delightful song "I
see the sun."
(Many more testimonials can be found here.)

☺

VALUABLE BOOKS AVAILABLE

Owning
an original of Dr. Bates’ 1920 first edition book is now
possible, and, even more amazing, I have one very rare copy of
Emily Lierman’s 1926 book available: Stories from the Clinic.
[Oops, Emily’s book SOLD already.] Information
on these books is here
On the same page you will also find my compilation of the best
of Dr. Bates’ writings – the Bates Method Nuggets
– a great overview of his methods.
Coming soon (Yes, I’m EXCITED) my second book will be published,
for people who struggle with reading glasses. Watch your mail
box this summer for more news on this!

☺

TEACHER
TRAINING IN MAINE

The
next Vision Educator Training Institute course starts in Maine
in September 2011!
*Learn how to teach others to see more clearly and comfortably
by giving them tools to care for their own vision.
*Add another skill set to your existing holistic practice and
improve your own vision at the same time.
*Encourage others to soften, relax, expand and connect more fully
with themselves and the world around them.
This is your invitation to join Rosemary and Elizabeth for an
exciting year-long training of six 4-day weekends in beautiful
southern Maine. Go
here for more information.

☺

The
cure of imperfect sight can only be accomplished without effort.
Too many patients believe that the cure of imperfect sight is
very
complicated, and that they have to make a great effort. It is
only
when they become convinced that the one way they can obtain
perfect sight is by rest, that a permanent improvement is obtained.
William H. Bates, M.D., Better Eyesight magazine, March 1926.

☺

Thank
you for reading Visions of Joy News; please share it with your
friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

WELCOMEto those who receive
Visions of Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural
eyesight improvement and that you will find it helpful on your
personal path to clarity.

I
wish everyone a happy and healthy new year, filled with the delight
of clear natural vision!

☺

NATURAL EYESIGHT CONFERENCES

Many
thanks to Bates teachers Margaret Montgomery and Aileen Whiteford
for organizing the 2nd British Natural Eyesight Conference held
recently in London. The conference topic was children's vision,
and how effective the Bates method is for children especially.
Various presenters, including myself, gave examples of children's
steady progress to clear eyesight, and talked about how that was
achieved.

The next Vision Conference will be held in Northern Italy, 28-30
October 2011.

☺

WELL
BEING JOURNAL

The
January/February 2011 issue of Well Being Journal features an
article by Esther on Natural Eyesight Improvement, which is prominently
placed right in front!

This magazine is currently
for sale in many stores in the USA, including Barnes & Noble,
Borders, Whole Foods and many health food stores.
In the UK it is carried by NutriCentre stores in London.

☺

INTERVIEW WITH ESTHER ON YOUTUBE!

In
case you missed it last time (I received the video just after
I had sent out the September newsletter),
go have a look at this interview done by Russ of HealthForwardOnline.com.
He asks Esther some really good questions at the Raw Health Expo
in Sebastopol. It is 5:15 minutes; enjoy.

☺

REPLACE
A WRONG THOUGHT

"The
cause of any error of refraction, of a squint, or of any other
functional
disturbance of the eye, is simply a thought - a wrong thought
-
and the cure is as quick as the thought that relaxes."
- Dr. William H. Bates (Chapter 10, Perfect Sight Without Glasses)

Common
'wrong thoughts' that I frequently come across are the thoughts
that say "It takes effort to improve vision", and "If
I try harder I will see better."
If you replace these thoughts with their opposite; substitute
them with the thoughts "My vision can improve easily"
and "I see better when I relax," then you are taking
a major step forward on your path to regaining natural clarity!

☺

Thank
you for reading Visions of Joy News; please share it with your
friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

WELCOME to those who
receive Visions of Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural eyesight
improvement and that you will find it helpful on your personal path to
clarity.

☺

CELEBRATING
THE 130TH ANNIVERSARY OF EMILY'S BIRTHDAY

Emily
Ackerman Bates would have been 130 today if she could possibly have lived
that long!She was born on 6
September 1880, and first came to Dr. Bates as a patient when she was
about 30.Her mild myopia (she
had worn glasses for 16 years) was cured in just 6 weeks.She could probably have done even better if she had not practiced
the method wrong for the first couple of weeks!She was a quick learner, however, and soon became a highly
dedicated assistant to Dr. Bates.At
first she helped him with his research, and in the process learned all she
could about his method of natural eyesight improvement.She became extremely talented at helping people of all ages
overcome various vision challenges, and happily wrote about her
experiences of teaching in the clinic and beyond.Dr. Bates and Emily married in 1928.

To
celebrate her 130th birthday, I will provide Emily's personal suggestions
for you.If you take her
suggestions to heart, she will help you reach your goal of perfect vision!

EMILY'S
SUGGESTIONS

1.If the vision of the patient is improved under the care
of the doctor, and the patient neglects to practice, when he leaves
the office, what he is told to do at home, the treatment has been
of no benefit whatever.The
improved vision was only temporary.Faithful practice permanently improves the sight to normal.

2.If the patient conscientiously practices the methods, as
advised by the doctor, his vision always improves.This applies to patients with errors of refraction, as
well as organic diseases.

3.For cases of squint we find that the long swing is beneficial
to adults and to children.

4.When a patient suffers with cataract, palming is usually
the best method of treatment, and should be practiced many times
every day.

5.All patients with imperfect sight unconsciously stare,
and should be reminded by those who are near to them to blink
often.To stare is
to strain.Strain
is the cause of imperfect sight.

The
following rules will be found helpful if faithfully observed:
--

6.While sitting, do not look up without raising your chin.Always turn your head in the direction in which you look.Blink often.

7.Do not make an effort to see things more clearly.If you let your eyes alone, things will clear up by themselves.

8.Do not look at anything longer than a fraction of a second
without shifting.

9.While reading, do not think about your eyes, but let your
mind and imagination rule.

10.When you are conscious of your eyes while looking at objects
at any time, it causes discomfort and lessens your vision.

11.It is very important that you learn how to imagine stationary
objects to be moving, without moving your head or your body.

12.Palming is a help, and I suggest that you palm for a few
minutes many times during the day, at least ten times.At night just before retiring, it is well to palm for half
an hour or longer.

October
is rapidly approaching, which means I fly to Europe for another
visit to the Netherlands and England.I am very excited about speaking at the British
Natural Eyesight Conference and hope to see some of you there!

My
office in Ojai will be temporarily closed until early November
because of my travels, and also currently due to extensive renovations
- it will have a sky-light when all the work is done!

☺

BATES
METHOD NUGGETS LAUNCHED SUCCESSFULLY!

The
first print run of the Bates Method
Nuggets book is now sold out!But
don't worry, more are on the way from the printer and will be available
within a week.The book was a
great success at the recent Raw
Health Expo where lots of people took the opportunity to get it
autographed ☺
(see photo).Thanks to everyone who bought a copy!I look forward to hearing from you when you have read it - let me
know how it helped your vision.Update: The
new books have arrived.

☺

ANOTHER
INTERVIEW WITH ESTHER ON YOUTUBE!

This
just came in; go have a look! Russ from HealthForwardOnline.com
interviews Esther at the recent Raw Health Expo and asks some really good
questions. It's just 5 minutes but has great information.
Enjoy.

☺

Thank you for reading Visions of Joy News; please
share it with your friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

WELCOME to those who
receive Visions of Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural eyesight
improvement and that you will find it helpful on your personal path to
clarity.

☺

BATES
METHOD NUGGETS IN PAPERBACK

At the end of July I will
receive the first box of books from the printer, so the Bates Method
Nuggets book is now available for pre-order!If you order it by July 27th, it will be sent to you
free of shipping cost.
For only $15 you can be one of the very first to own this brand new book!

The book has 128 pages, and 22
chapters.Each chapter covers
a part of the Bates Method, and contains articles that Dr. Bates himself
wrote between 1919 and 1930.Dr.
Bates considered these specific articles to be the most important ones to
keep for reference.I believe
that reading this book will be a great help in understanding the Bates
method, and that it makes a great companion volume to Dr. Bates' 1920 book
'Perfect Sight Without Glasses'.

To order the Bates Method
Nuggets book, either make a donation for $15
(using debit/credit/paypal), or send a US check to the
address shown here.Please
specify that you are ordering the paperback version, unless you would
rather have the e-book, which will remain available also.

☺

RAW HEALTH EXPO

The 2nd Raw Health Expo will take place at the end of this
month in Sebastopol, California, and both days I will be giving a talk
about natural vision improvement.There
will be many other speakers giving talks on various health topics,
including Michael Klaper, MD, the author of 'Vegan Nutrition, Pure and
Simple.'This expo was a great event last year and I look forward to seeing
some of you there!You will
find more information at www.rawhealthexpo.com.

☺

2nd
BRITISH NATURAL EYESIGHT CONFERENCE

Just a reminder to keep your calendar free for the very best conference on
the Bates Method! 29-31 October 2010 in Felden Lodge, Hemel
Hempstead, England. I will talk about Dr. Bates work with children
on Saturday morning, and give a workshop on astigmatism on Sunday evening.
You'll find more info here.

☺

Dr. BATES ON
EYESTRAINAll
eye trouble is caused by strain. If the normal eye strains to read at a
near point, it becomes far-sighted. If the eye strains to read at a
distance, it becomes near-sighted - always.But this condition is only temporary. Remove the strain and the
eyes become normal.
-
The Bridgeport Telegram, 9 March 1922

When one's mind is under a strain one
unconsciously tightens the muscles which encircle the eyeball, and
consequently squeeze it out of shape and out of focus.But when the mind is at rest these muscles are relaxed and the
eyeball is allowed to assume its proper shape and focus.-Better Eyesight magazine, May 1923

The ways in which people strain to see are
infinite, and the methods used to relieve the strain must be almost
equally varied.Whatever the
method that brings most relief, however, the end is always the same,
namely relaxation.-Perfect Sight Without Glasses, page 10

It has been demonstrated in thousands of cases
that all abnormal action of the external muscles of the eyeball is
accompanied by a strain or effort to see, and that with the relief of this
strain the action of the muscles becomes normal and all errors of
refraction disappear.-Perfect Sight Without Glasses, page 89

☺

Thank you for reading Visions of Joy News; please share it with your friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

WELCOME to those who
receive Visions of Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural eyesight
improvement and that you will find it helpful on your personal path to
clarity.

☺

BATES
METHOD NUGGETS

The Bates
Method Nuggets are the golden nuggets of the Bates Method of natural
eyesight improvement.These
are true gems, in their original form, the way Dr. William H. Bates
published them in his monthly Better Eyesight magazines in the 1920s.

Rather than reading the huge volume
of information of all the magazines, Bates Method Nuggets contains the
essence in a compact form.The
various parts of the method are sorted by subject, and step by step they
provide you with a clear picture of the Bates Method in an easy and
logical flow.

This book can be used as a reference
guide to the Bates Method, and is very useful to newcomers to the method
as well as to long-time Bates fans.22
Chapters, 124 pages, US$15.00.
It is already available on this
website, and may actually appear in print soon too!

☺

2nd
BRITISH NATURAL EYESIGHT CONFERENCE

As promised in the March newsletter, here is more information on this
year's British
Natural Eyesight Conference,
which will be held at Felden Lodge, near Hemel Hempstead, from 29 to 31
October.On Saturday morning I
will focus on children's eyes and talk about Dr. Bates and Emily's legacy
of vision work with the young ones.On
Sunday evening you can attend a 3 hour workshop with me on astigmatism.Come learn how to regain muscle balance in the eyes!

Meir Schneider from San Francisco
and Aileen Whiteford from Scotland are among the other speakers at this
eyesight conference.I hope to
see you there!

Imagine
seeing better by thinking differently. That's
a vision with a future, according to Harvard University psychologist Ellen
Langer...You
can read the article here.

Yes, it is once again proven that Dr. Bates was right all along.They just like to think they are making a brand new discovery, and
if that makes them happy, so be it.You
and I know this is old news, but it is nice to read about it in a current
magazine.See below for an
example by Dr. Bates of how thinking differently helped a lady with
cataracts and glaucoma regain her clear vision.

☺

OPTIMISM
by Dr. W.H. BATESOptimism
is a great help in obtaining a cure of imperfect sight.About ten years ago a patient was treated for cataract, complicated
with glaucoma.After two weeks
of daily treatment the vision improved very much and the patient became
able to travel about the streets without a companion to guide her.Her vision at this time had improved from perception of light to
10/200.After palming,
swinging, and the memory of perfect sight, her vision was still further
improved.She was very much
encouraged and returned home full of enthusiasm to carry out the treatment
to the very best of her ability.Soon
afterwards things did not go well at home.The patient became very much depressed and stopped her daily
practice.Her daughter was
very enthusiastic, and realized that her mother had been very materially
improved and that further treatment would bring about a complete cure.She talked to her mother for half an hour or more and encouraged
her to continue with her practice.The
patient responded favorably, got busy, and was able to bring back much of
the sight which had been lost.She
made further improvement every day.

At
times the mother was very pessimistic.She was continually complaining that she knew very well that she
would never get her sight back.Then
the daughter would start in with her optimism.

One
bright, sunshiny morning the mother got up, took a card with diamond type
printed on one side, and was greatly surprised to read it without any
trouble.In three months her
distant vision was normal.

☺

Thank you for reading Visions of Joy News; please share it with your friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

Contents of this
issue:- Welcome- Radio interview on 10 March
- 2nd British Natural Eyesight Conference
- New pages on the Visions of Joy Website
- Visions of Joy now on Facebook and Twitter
- Distance of the Eye-Chart, by Dr. Bates

☺

WELCOME to those who
receive Visions of Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural eyesight
improvement and that you will find it helpful on your personal path to
clarity.

☺

RADIO
INTERVIEW

'Solutions
to Aging' host Stuart Spangenberg will be interviewing Esther on Highway
to Health Radio tomorrow (Wednesday 10 March 2010). Listen
in at 3pm Pacific Time, 6pm Eastern Time.

To
call in to the show, dial (321) 354-6946, and use 578782 as the ID.The archive of the show will be available to listen to online
sometime within the next week or so, and will be posted here.

☺

2nd
BRITISH NATURAL EYESIGHT CONFERENCE

Just an advance notice so you can make plans to attend this vision event
if you like.The dates for the
2nd
British Natural Eyesight Conference
are 29 - 31 October 2010.The
main focus will be 'Bates and Children', yet it will be an interesting and
valuable conference for children of all ages!Esther will be speaking at this conference, as well as giving a
workshop, and more information will follow in the next newsletter.

☺

NEW
PAGES ADDED TO VISIONS OF JOY

Useful 'vision
aids' to help you on your path to clarity have been added to the website recently,
as well as a page that peruses the interesting history about Dr.
Bates' book Perfect
Sight Without Glasses.Enjoy, and feel free to send feedback!

☺

ARE
YOU A FACEBOOK OR TWITTER FAN?

If so, this is an invitation to 'befriend'
or 'follow' Visions of Joy!

☺

DISTANCE
OF THE EYE-CHART
by William H. Bates MD

The
distance of the eye-chart from the patient is a matter of considerable
importance.Some patients
improve more rapidly when the chart is placed fifteen or twenty feet away
while others fail to get any benefit with the chart at this distance.

In
some cases the best results are obtained when the chart is as close as one
foot.I recall a patient with
very poor sight who made no progress whatever, when the chart was placed
at ten feet or further, but became able to improve the vision very
materially with the chart at about six inches.After the vision was improved at six inches the patient became able
to improve the chart at a greater distance until normal sight was obtained
at twenty feet.Some cases
with poor vision may not improve when the chart is placed at ten feet or
further, or at one foot or less but do much better when the chart is
placed at a middle distance, at about eight or ten feet.Other individuals may not improve their vision at all at ten feet,
but are able to improve their sight at twenty feet or at one foot.I recall one patient with 20 diopters of myopia whose vision at ten
feet was peculiar.The letters
at twenty feet and at one foot were apparently all the same normal size,
but at ten feet they appeared to be one-fifth of the normal size.Practicing with the chart at twenty feet or at one foot helped him
greatly, more than practicing with the chart at about ten feet.While some patients are benefited by practicing with the chart
daily always at the same distance, there are others who seem to be
benefited when the distance of the chart is changed daily.

(Better
Eyesight
magazine, April 1924)

☺

If
only we could give up, let go, let the thing be done for us,
of how much strain would we rid ourselves!
What a difference between trying to do a thing and doing it;
between trying to see and seeing!

L.M.
Stanton, MD
(Better Eyesight magazine,
January 1927)

☺

Thank you for reading Visions of Joy News; please share it with your friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

WELCOMEto those who receive Visions of Joy
News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural eyesight
improvement and that you will find it helpful on your personal path to
clarity.

☺

HINDSIGHT IS 20/20 ~ WHY IS THAT?

It is such a common expression, at
times I even say it myself:"Yes,
with hindsight, I easily see how I could have done this
differently."And then I
will likely sigh, and someone will joke about my 20/20 hindsight.Does that ever happen to you too?It usually doesn't
occur to us that perhaps we can cultivate this hindsight and enjoy it as
our permanent way of seeing.Why
do we not see things with the same clarity before the event?

It becomes easy to understand the
concept of clear hindsight when we consider what we learn from the Bates
Method.As Dr. Bates pointed
out, our vision is largely mental, and any fears, worries, dislikes, or
negative expectations cause mental strain.In turn, this mental strain then distorts our vision.

As anyone preparing for some
important test will tell you, negative emotions are likely to surface to
some extent, especially right as the deadline draws close.The way we deal with those emotions influences how well our
preparations for this test will go.

Picture yourself in such a situation
- remember something that has recently been stressful for you.Feel the anxiety you had right before this 'test',
and notice how it affected you.

Now jump ahead in time and see
yourself breathing that proverbial 'sigh
of relief' after the test
is over and done with.

Do you notice that, when everything
is over and done, your anxiety has gone too?

Those negative emotions are no
longer in your way, and therefore your mental strain has dropped
considerably and you are able to relax.This relaxation allows you to have a much clearer picture,
literally as well as figuratively, of what you just went through.You can easily see where you made any mistakes, and you know how
you could have done it differently.The
overall picture is that clear.If
only we could turn the clock back by an hour, a day, or however much is
needed, and we could do it all over, and this time, with that magic 20/20
hindsight, we would do it better. . .

Well, we can do that!Perhaps not for past events, but we can help ourselves do better in
future.All it takes is a bit
of imagination, which happens to be one of Dr. Bates'
favorite tools for vision improvement.As you approach your next deadline, or test, and you notice the
worries, or fears, or negative expectations creeping in, recognize them as
just temporary emotions, and then imagine what this test would be like if
it was EASY.Simply let this
new scenario run through your mind.See
yourself being happily surprised by how easy the test is.Imagine how comfortable you are when doing it.Notice how your whole body is relaxed, breathing smoothly, with an
easy focus on the task at hand.You
are working very effectively and calmly.

You are using your happy, relaxed,
20/20 hindsight to work through the present moment.This enhances your actual vision, relaxes your breathing, focuses
your mind, and allows you to perform at your personal best level,
regardless of external conditions.

report
from the 22nd
international holistic vision conference4 Weeks ago
about 80 people came together in the beautiful location of Spa, Belgium
for the 22nd International Holistic Vision Conference.Meir Schneider gave the opening lecture on Friday afternoon, and he
happily took everyone outside onto the lawn where the bright sunshine
helped stimulate peripheral vision during tennis ball juggling with
central vision occluded.Sylvia
Lakeland from Portugal and Mikolaj Markiewicz from Poland joined forces to
talk about the epidemic of myopia in schools, pointing out that an
increased awareness by children of how their eyes feel, helping them to
relax any tension they notice, and providing playful visual training can
make a huge difference for the better during the school years.Their talk resulted in a gathering of about 20 vision teachers that
evening, all keen to join them in initiating a real change in school
systems.

Saturday's
topics by a variety of teachers included Acupuncture and Eye Diseases,
Variations of Relationship, Yoga Nidra, Ayurveda, EFT, EMDR, and AcuLight
Vision therapy.This
interesting day was followed by a Gala dinner and dance, where a magician
played his cards faster than anyone's
eyes were moving! ☺Sunday
morning had me somewhat nervous, as I was to give the closing lecture of
the conference, after the German trio of Sabine, Stefanie and Marianne
enlightened everyone with their vision expertise.

Thankfully
I was able to imagine that it would all be easy (using my 'hindsight'!),
so I simply got up on stage and talked about my passion for Dr. Bates'
work.My talk was very well
received, and although it was not recorded you can read my own notes of
this lecture here.

☺

VISION
IMPROVEMENT BOOKS FOR SALE

A new addition to my website is that
the vision improvement books that I currently have for sale are now listed
on the books page.If you wish
to expand your library a little by adding books that can help improve your
vision, then come take a look! Whether
your interest is in the older books from Bates himself, or one of the more
recent publications, the Visions of Joy bookpage may
just have what you are looking for. . .

☺

Thank
you for reading Visions of Joy News; please share it with your friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

WELCOME to those who
receive Visions of Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural eyesight
improvement and that you will find it helpful on your personal path to
clarity.

☺

REPORT FROM THE RAW HEALTH EXPO IN SANTA ROSA, CA

Two weeks ago I attended the
first 'Raw Health Expo', organized by John Kohler in Santa Rosa, CA.John did an excellent job at bringing great speakers together at
this event to provide top notch health information for everyone there.I was scheduled to speak on both days, and was delighted with the
huge interest that people showed in natural eyesight improvement.In the first talk I explained the steps required to overcome the
need for glasses and contact lenses.The
room was so full that latecomers were standing in the doorway!For the next day's talk I was allocated a larger room, so the
same large crowd was now able to sit comfortably.This talk was about the physical and mental strains that we can let
go of to improve our vision.Both
talks were very well received, and I am so grateful for the many
compliments received afterwards.
It has been 10 years since I went to a similar health expo in San
Francisco where I first met Thomas Quackenbush and bought his book Relearning to See.From
my total ignorance about vision back then to being a well known vision
educator myself now has been a huge learning curve. I
totally love the positive changes this 'visionary' career has brought
into my life and I love passing on my passion for natural eyesight
improvement.My thanks to all
who care to listen and who come to see better for themselves!

☺

ORIGINAL 1920 BATES BOOKS
FOR SALE (and more)

I have been lucky to find some of Dr. Bates' original first edition
books from 1920.These
hardcover issues of Perfect Sight
Without Glasses are becoming rare and I notice them being sold on
internet for $200 or more!. . .

I currently have 5 copies for sale.Two
of them are in near mint condition, two are a little tattered but very
readable, and one is
'in-between'; in good condition.Prices range from $40 to $150, depending on the state of the book.This may be a good time to secure a copy for yourself!

Another excellent book that is hard to find and tends to be extremely
expensive is Margaret Corbett's last book of the three books she wrote: Quick
Guide to Better Vision.In
this excellent book Margaret summarizes her many years of experience as a
successful Bates teacher.Two
copies are available at the moment, for $65 and $85.Feel free to search the internet and compare prices; these are
great value!

Stop StaringBy
W.H. Bates, M.D.It can be demonstrated by
tests with the retinoscope that all persons with imperfect sight stare,
strain, or try to see.To
demonstrate this fact: Look intently at one part of a large or small
letter at the distance or nearpoint.In
a few seconds, usually, fatigue and discomfort will be produced, and the
letter will blur or disappear.If
the effort is continued long enough, pain may be produced.

To break the habit of
staring:

(1)Shift consciously from one part to another of all objects regarded,
and imagine that these objects move in a direction contrary to the
movement of the eye.Do this
with letters on the test card, with letters of fine print, if they can be
seen, and with other objects.

(2)Close the eyes frequently for a moment or longer.When the strain is considerable, keep the eyes closed for several
minutes and open them for a fraction of a second--flashing.When the stare is sufficient to keep the vision down to 2/200 or
less, palm for a longer or shorter time; then look at the card for a
moment.Later mere closing of
the eyes may afford sufficient rest.

(3)Imagine that the white openings and margins of letters are whiter
than the rest of the background.Do
this with eyes closed and open alternately.It is an interesting fact that this practice prevents staring and
improves the vision rapidly.

☺

BETTER EYESIGHT MAGAZINE
COLLECTION ON SALE

The above text from Dr. Bates comes from the June 1930 issue of Better
Eyesight magazine.The
entire collection of unedited Better Eyesight magazines is currently
for sale for only $59.00!!Take
advantage of this summer discount and have all this inspiring eyesight
improvement information at your fingertips, easily searchable on your own
computer!See the e-books
page for details.

☺

REMINDER:

The 22nd International Conference for Holistic Vision
takes place in Spa, Belgium, and you can attend a workshop there with me
in which we will explore the physical and mental tension you can release
to improve vision.30,
31 October and 1 November 2009 are the dates to keep free!

☺

Thank you for reading Visions of Joy News; please share it with your friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

WELCOME to those who
receive Visions of Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural eyesight
improvement and that you will find it helpful on your personal path to
clarity.

☺

ESTHER'S
CURRENT SCHEDULE

After much travel in the first 5
months of this year it is nice to be at home for the next few months, yet
there are still a few trips to let you know about.

- The Raw
Spirit Fest is coming to Santa Barbara, June 5-7, and I will be
attending this weekend festival.

- Esther will be speaking at The
Raw Health Expo in Santa Rosa, 25-26 July.
I will also visit relatives in Benicia around that weekend. Anyone
in the Santa Rosa or San Francisco areas who would like to reserve some time for
vision or breathing lessons is welcome to contact me
to set up an appointment.

- As a reminder, the International
Holistic Vision Conference will be held in Spa, Belgium this
year, October 31 to November 1.I will be giving a 3 hour workshop as well as presenting a talk at
this conference.

Thanks to all those in Chandler
and the Phoenix area of Arizona who have started improving their
eyesight this month!I have
received some very positive feedback already, thank you.

It was a great experience to teach
more than 20 people in the two weeks I spent in Arizona, and I look
forward to hearing from more of you regarding your progress.

Special congratulations goes to
Prateek (age 8) who rapidly became his baseball team's best pitcher
after getting rid of his glasses a few months ago.Excellent work Prateek; keep palming!

☺

DR.
BATES WRITES ABOUT GLASSES

"GLASSES
CANNOT REMOVE STRAIN"
"The
wearing of glasses cannot remove the strain. If it did, the eye would
become cured and glasses would no longer be necessary. As a matter of
fact, once a person starts wearing glasses, the strength of the lenses may
have to be increased steadily.Yet
when people break their glasses and go without them for a week or two,
they frequently observe that their sight has improved.The
human eye resents glasses. Every oculist knows that patients have to
"get used" to them --
sometimes they never succeed in doing so."(from an article by Dr. Bates in The
Bridgeport Telegram, 9 March 1922)

"GLASSES
KEEP UP THE EYE STRAIN""It
is a mistake to believe that even though the glasses do no good they
cannot do harm.Glasses keep
up the strain.A person
wearing glasses for myopia has to strain all the time in order to make the
eyeball elongated sufficiently to fit the glasses."(Better Eyesight magazine, September 1922)

"WHAT
GLASSES DO TO US""After
people once begin to wear glasses their strength, in most cases, has to be
steadily increased in order to maintain the degree of visual acuity
secured by the aid of the first pair."
"As refractive abnormalities are continually changing, not only from day
to day and from hour to hour, but from minute to minute, even under the
influence of atropine, the accurate fitting of glasses is, of course,
impossible.In some cases
these fluctuations are so extreme, or the patient so unresponsive to
mental suggestion, that no relief whatever is obtained from correcting
lenses, which necessarily become, under such circumstances, an added
discomfort.At their best it
cannot be maintained that glasses are anything more than a very
unsatisfactory substitute for normal vision." (Better
Eyesight magazine, July 1920)

"QUESTION.I cannot yet read or write easily without my glasses.Can I harm my eyes by trying to do so?""ANSWER.You cannot harm your eyes by reading and writing without glasses if
you stop often to rest them by closing or palming.Even if the use of the eyes without glasses produces pain and
fatigue the injury is less than from the wearing of the glasses." (Better
Eyesight magazine, November 1921)

"As
a general rule it is best for the patient to discard glasses. In some
cases of extreme myopia, where going without glasses entails too great a
hardship, good results have been obtained by gradually reducing the
strength of the glasses worn as the vision improves, but the treatment is
then prolonged."(From an
article by Dr. Bates in the New York
Medical Journal, 8 May 1915)

☺

Thank you for reading Visions of Joy News, and please share it with your friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

Contents of this
issue:- Welcome
- Life... is a school ~ A personal update
- Esther's current schedule: Ojai, Esalen, and Arizona
- Rest ~ by W.H. Bates, M.D.

☺

WELCOME to those who
receive Visions of Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural eyesight
improvement and that you will find it helpful on your personal path to
clarity.

☺

LIFE...
IS A SCHOOL ~ A PERSONAL UPDATE

Last year I made a choice to teach
fewer group classes and spend more time on my writing projects.This personal choice was later reinforced by the serious illness of
my young niece, who was diagnosed with leukemia last August.As her illness progressed and the daily updates from my family
became more intense, I found it more and more difficult to reach out to
help others, and so I slowly slipped into even less teaching.During this period I found that a way to help me stay relaxed was
to study Dr. Bates' writings in more depth than I had done before.

As the Bates Method in essence is
all about rest and relaxation, absorbing this message over and over proved
quite helpful to me.In the
past two emotional months, I have re-read the entire collection of Better
Eyesight, the magazine that Dr. Bates published monthly for eleven
years.

My niece unfortunately passed away
earlier this month and has likely found her rest and release from pain.I am now beginning to come out of my little 'cave' and am
resurfacing in the world of teaching natural vision improvement with new
motivation, as well as inspiration to take this work as far as I can
possibly take it.With the
inspiring contents of Dr. Bates' magazines fresh in my mind, I am
noticing that it has become easier to help people who have come for help
with their vision recently.

I am glad to continue on this path
and to look forward to helping many more people regain their visual
clarity in the most effortless way.

☺

ESTHER'S
CURRENT SCHEDULE

April
2: A free talk on Natural
Eyesight Improvement at 'The Oaks' in Ojai, CA.7:30pm.

May
2-17:
Private classes in Chandler, Arizona.Preference will be given to those who are rescheduling appointments
made for the beginning of March, yet others who are interested in lessons
are invited to inquire also.

October
30-November 1: International Holistic Vision Conference, in Spa,
Belgium.

All
methods of curing errors of refraction are simply different ways of
obtaining rest.

Different
persons do this in different ways.Some
patients are able to rest their eyes simply by closing them, and complete
cures have been obtained by this means, the closing of the eyes for a
longer or shorter period being alternated with looking at the test card
for a moment.In other cases
patients have strained more when their eyes were shut than when they were
open.Some can rest their eyes
when all light is excluded from them by covering with the palms of the
hands; others cannot, and have to be helped by other means before they can
palm.Some become able at once
to remember or imagine that the letters they wish to see are perfectly
black, and with the accompanying relaxation their vision immediately
becomes normal.Others become
able to do this only after a considerable time.Shifting is a very simple method of relieving strain, and most
patients soon become able to shift from one letter to another, or from one
side of a letter to another in such a way that these forms seem to move in
a direction opposite to the movement of the eye.A few are unable to do this, but can do it with a mental picture of
a letter, after which they become able to do it visually.

Patients
who do not succeed with any particular method of obtaining rest for their
eyes should abandon it and try something else.The cause of the failure is strain, and it does no good to go on
straining.

(from Better
Eyesight magazine, April 1920)

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Thank you for reading Visions of Joy News, and please share it with your friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.

WELCOME to those who
receive Visions of Joy News for the first time!
I hope you enjoy this somewhat irregular newsletter about natural eyesight
improvement and that you will find it helpful on your personal path to
clarity.

☺

PLAYING OUTSIDE CAN PREVENT
CHILDREN BECOMING NEARSIGHTED

This week an article was published in the Daily Mail about research done
in Australia that links the amount of time children spend outdoors in
sunshine with a much lower risk of them developing myopia
(nearsightedness)."Spending
two or three hours outside each day halves the chance of developing the
condition."

Professor Ian Morgan, of the
Australian Research Council's Vision Centre, said:

"We're seeing large
increases in myopia among children in urban societies all around the world
- and the outstanding common factor may be less and less time spent
outdoors.'The idea that
reading makes you short-sighted has been popular for a couple of hundred
years. But recent data shows that the time spent indoors is a more
important factor." You can
read the full article here.Esther's comment:
I totally agree that more time spent outside is healthy and good for our
vision, and this goes for ALL of us, not just children.Part of the article unfortunately is incorrect and it just repeats
a long-standing myth that myopia is caused by an eyeball that has 'grown
excessively'.Myopia is not
caused by eyes 'growing excessively'; it is simply due to eye-strain, and
releasing that strain will bring the eye-ball back to its normal shape and
clear vision.

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22ND
INTERNATIONAL HOLISTIC VISION CONFERENCE

The details for the Holistic Vision Conference in Spa, Belgium have now
been posted on their website.I will be presenting the following workshop and lecture during this
conference:

October 30 - Half day
pre-conference workshop:
"The Physical and Mental Tensions We Can Release to Improve
Vision"

November 1 - One hour lecture:

"Relax into Seeing, Relax
into Life"

Along with many other
workshops and lectures this promises to be a great conference!

Join me and many other vision
educators in the beautiful town of Spa, Belgium and be inspired to improve
your vision!To register
please visit the
conference website.

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ESTHER'S CURRENT SCHEDULE

Besides the obvious trip to
Europe for the above mentioned vision conference in October, I will
also be in Europe for most of February. Anyone who is interested in taking a
class in London, England between February 2 and 20, please
contact me in the next few weeks to set up an appointment.

The month of January is now pretty much booked full, so for
those of you in Southern California, I am already taking appointments for March.

The weekend of February 28-March 1, Lizzie May and Kevin Wooding,
two wonderful vision educators from England, will be coming to Ojai to
teach a workshop on natural eyesight improvement! Join us!
Details will be on my website soon.

April 12-17 will see me back at Esalen Institute for another week
of teaching 'Free your Breath, Free your Life' with Dennis Lewis,
who is the author of several books on Authentic Breathing. If you
could do with some 'serious' rest and relaxation, along with gentle
breathing work, than this is an
excellent opportunity to do so in one of the most beautiful locations on
the Big Sur Coast!

DR. BATES' ADVICE TO OVERCOME NEARSIGHTEDNESS.Question:I can read with no trouble
but cannot distinguish things at a distance, especially the features of
people.What would you
suggest?

Answer:You are nearsighted.The
imagination cure is the quickest and most satisfactory cure of myopia.Use two Snellen test cards (= eye charts), one held at one
foot or nearer, or at a distance where you can see it best; the other
placed at five feet or further.Look
at the first letter of one of the lines of the near card and with the eyes
closed remember it for half a minute or longer.Then look at the same letter on the distant card at five feet or
further and imagine that letter for not longer than a second.Then look at the near letter again for part of a minute, close your
eyes and remember it, and then glance at the same letter on the distant
card for not longer than a second, and imagine it as well as you can.Alternate.When you
become able to see the bottom line on the distant card, place it a few
inches further off and repeat.

(From Better Eyesight magazine, January 1926)

☺

Thank you for reading Visions of Joy News, and please share it with your friends!
Enjoy your path to clarity.